Destiny of the Tunnels book 1, Leaping Fawn (Formerly Fawnshade's Tale
by GreeceXCats527
Summary: Fawnkit is born into ShadowClan with a little body and large paws, unusual for a ground dasher. But after hearing stories of tunnel cave-ins, she wishes to feel the excitement of running from showering dirt. But the tunnels she explores hold more secrets than she thought, and she ends up unearthing more than a few caves. T for violence and death ..
1. Allegiances

**ShadowClan**

**Leader: Ravenstar** - black she-cat with a white chest (ground dasher)

**Deputy: Stonedrift** - pale gray tom (tunnel runner)

**APPRENTICE, Rockypaw** (tunnel runner)

**Medicine cat: Oakfall** - pale brown tabby tom

**APPRENTICE, Maplepaw**

**Ground Dashers: **(cats that stay above ground during battles)

**Tallwhisker** - tall black tom

**Mothdrift** - dark brown she-cat

**APPRENTICE, Willowpaw**

**Feathernose** - dark gray tom

**Tunnel Runners:** (cats that battle underground)

**Heatherwhisker** - pale brown tom

**APPRENTICE, Wingpaw**

**Snowheart** - white she-cat

**Crowflight** - black she-cat

**Apprentices:**

**Maplepaw** - dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat

**Willowpaw** - pale gray she-cat (ground dasher)

**Rockypaw** - dark gray-and-black tom (tunnel runner)

**Wingpaw** - pale brown tabby tom (tunnel runner)

**Queens:**

**Mistpelt** - striped gray she-cat, mother of Riverkit, Lakekit, and Acornkit

**Gingerwhisker** - ginger-and-white she-cat, mother of Fawnkit, Mosskit, Smallkit, Pinekit, and Copperkit

**Shortclaw **- short black she-cat, expecting Heatherwhisker's kits

**Kits:**

**Riverkit** - pale gray tabby she-cat

**Lakekit** - dark gray tabby she-cat, distinctive white speckled tail

**Acornkit** - reddish-brown tom

**Fawnkit** - small brown she-kit, larger white paws

**Mosskit** - dark brown she-cat, white patches

**Smallkit** - black-and-white she-cat

**Pinekit** - dark brown tabby tom

**Copperkit** - ginger-and-brown she-cat, white nose and tail-tip

**Elders:**

**Stumpyfoot** - dark gray tom, right front paw missing

**Burnwhisker** - black she-cat, whiskers burned off in a fire

**Quiettongue** - brown she-cat, lost her voice in a fire due to breathing in smoke

**ThunderClan**

**Leader:** **Icestar** - white tom with blue eyes

**Deputy: Owlnose** - dark brown tabby tom

**Medicine cat: Appleblossom** - golden she-cat, ginger ears and paws

**Ground Dashers: **(cats that stay above ground during battles)

**Antlerfoot** - ginger tabby tom

**APPRENTICE, Toothpaw **(black tom)

**Tunnel Runners: **(cats that battle underground)

**Shimmernose** - white she-cat

**Queens:**

**Runningfoot** - pale brown she-cat, mother of Dawnkit, Duskkit, and Nightkit

**Birdwhisker **- ginger-and-cream she-cat, expecting Antlerfoot's kits

**Kits:**

**Dawnkit** - pale gray she-cat

**Duskkit** - ginger tom

**Nightkit** - black-and-white she-cat

**RiverClan**

**Leader:**** Rushstar** - brown tabby she-cat (ground dasher)

**APPRENTICE, Splashpaw** (gray tom, ground dasher)

**Deputy:**** Ripplefern** - pale gray she-cat (tunnel runner)

**Medicine cat:**** Wolfspeckle** - dark gray tom, white speckles

**Ground Dashers:**(cats that stay above ground during battles)

**Mooseheart** - dark brown tom

**Tunnel Runners:**(cats that battle underground)

**Growltail** - dark gray she-cat

**APPRENTICE, Cloudpaw** (white she-cat, reddish patches)

**Berrystorm** - black-and-white she-cat

**Ryeheart** - dark brown tom, white speckles

**APPRENTICE, Foxpaw** (ginger tom, white feet and tail-tip)

**Queens:**

**Rainsong** - creamy-brown she-cat, brown eyes, mother of Pebblekit, Silverkit, and Bobtailkit

**Splashfern **- pale gray tabby she-cat, expecting Ryeheart's kits

**Kits:**

**Pebblekit** - creamy-brown she-cat

**Silverkit** - silver tabby she-cat

**Bobtailkit** - dark brown she-cat, creamy ears

**WindClan**

**Leader:**** Swiftstar** - black-and-white tom (ground dasher)

**Deputy: Snakebite** - pale brown she-cat (tunnel runner)

**Medicine cat:**** Rabbitbreeze** - ginger-and-cream she-cat

**Crevicenose** - pale gray tabby tom

**Ground Dashers: **(cats that stay above ground during battles)

**Swiftstorm** - white-and-brown tom

**Emberfoot** - cream-and-brown she-cat

**Queens:**

**Rosefade** - creamy-red she-cat with green eyes, mother of Tanglekit and Kestrelkit

**Honeyheart** - golden-brown she-cat, mother Grasskit, Featherkit, and Stormkit

**Rabbitskip **- pale brown tabby she-cat, expecting Swiftstorm's kits

**Kits:**

**Tanglekit** - blonde she-cat, tangled fur

**Kestrelkit **- creamy tom

**Grasskit **- dark gray tabby tom

**Featherkit** - pale gray-and-white she-cat

**Stormkit **- white-and-cream tom

**AN; Alrighty then, I'm excepting OC's as kits for the following;**

**Shortclaw and Heatherwhisker (ShadowClan) (3 kits)**

**Birdwhisker and Antlerfoot (ThunderClan) (4 kits)  
**

**Splashfern and Ryeheart (RiverClan) (2 kits)  
**

**Rabbitskip and Swiftstorm (WindClan) (3 kits)  
**

**I'll need the following info. I filled it out for a cat named Finchfur  
**

**Name; Finchkit/paw/fur**

**Eye; green**

**Fur; brown tabby**

**Gender; tom**

**Clan; WindClan  
**

**Thanks so much!  
**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

The night was cold. Very cold. The pale gray tom had been born on a night like this, where the wind blew and shook the trees, the water in the streams rippling outward in tiny circles as the rain beat down on it hard, and the medicine cat had almost no herbs to help the birthing queen with her hardship. The pale gray tom knew all of this, how most cats die giving birth on these nights, or their kits, yet he had survived, and now it was his children's turn to live.

The gray tom sniffed the air. He smelled herbs, borage, tansy, and a bit of poppy drifting from the nursery. After all his years of being underground, the gray tom had nearly lost all of his sight. But he could still see the nursery and everything around him, and he watched nervously as the brown tortoiseshell she-cat walked away from the nursery to fetch more poppy seeds.

When she returned, he stopped her with a flick of his tail. "How is she?" His words came out small and tired, as if he hadn't slept in a she-cat looked up at him, excitement flashing in her gaze.

"Wonderfully!" she exclaimed proudly. "Gingerwhisker is pulling hrough nicely, considering it is only her first litter, and she's had two already! A tom and a she-cat. Oakfall says there are a few more, and to-"

She was cut off by a yowl from inside. "Maplepaw! I need those poppy seeds right now! The third one is on its way!"

Maplepaw dipped her head to the pale gray tom and turned to pad into the nursery once more. And the tom was left alone. He jumped as a striped gray tail rested itself on his shoulder. He turned just in time to see his sister, a ground dasher named Mistpelt. Her kind blue eyes made him feel calmer.

"Oh, Stonedrift, she's going to be fine!" Mistpelt meowed encouragingly. "She's doing very well. Much better with those ones than I did with Riverkit, Lakekit, and Acornkit. Come on, lighten up. After tonight, you'll be a father!"

Stonedrift nodded, suddenly perking up. Him, a father? Now that was good news! "Rockypaw is going to have to look out," he chuckled. "That little apprentice will soon have all my kits running after him through the tunnels. They'll all be tunnel runners, I just know it!"

The gray tabby sighed. She shook her head, almost too knowingly. "I expected all my kits to become ground dashers like me," she told him. "But Acornkit is showing much interest in the tunnel runners. Stonedrift, not all of your kits will want to be tunnel runners. They will all have different destinies."

Just then, Oakfall's brown tabby head appeared through the entrance. "Five," he told them. "Four little she-cats and one tom."

Stonedrift got up and padded inside to see his kits. As he stood over them, he remembered being a kit himself, so tiny and helpless, yet new and strong, too. The gray tom hoped they would be able to survive tunnel crashes if they became tunnel runners.

A sudden rumble came from deep in the ground as the oldest tunnel of the Clans caved in. He heard Snowheart call, "Cave in!" and her sister, Crowflight, answered, "We're all out," from in the clearing.

_The tunnels may not be safe anymore. What if they all die?_


	3. Chapter 1

**AN; Yeah, I know WindClan dig tunnels, but t****_unnel runners do not dig in tunnels_****. They merely do things like send messages through them, parol them, hunt in them, fight in them, and attack other Clans through them. They don't dig them. Here's chapter 1, enjoy.**

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**Chapter 1**

Fawnkit sat watching the four other kits sleep. She had opened her eyes three days ago, and Riverkit had offered to take her outside, but Gingerwhisker had told her to wait until two more of her siblings had opened their eyes. Waiting seemed like forever, even if it were only for a few more days.

In the back of the nursery, Riverkit rolled Lakekit to the ground, as Acornkit watched, blinking his eyes sleepily. The reddish brown kit never showed much interest in play-fighting, though when he did, Acornkit was much stronger than Lakekit and Riverkit put together. When Mistpelt told Fawnkit about ground dashers and tunnel runners, she had described the tunnel runners as cats with wide, strong shoulders and strong paws. Acornkit had both.

He stretched his legs before padding away from his siblings to look outside. Hi tail flicked, an annoyed sign with most cats, but Acornkit's tail only twitched around his father, who he seemed to love even more than his mother.

"Feathernose is here!" he called over his shoulder, his tail twitching excitedly and their father's dark gray muzzle pushed through the entrance. He pushed the rest of the way inside and watched as Riverkit and Lakekit got off of one another and sat in front of Feathernose, purring.

The dark gray tom licked each of his kits in turn, then turned, surprisingly, to Fawnkit. "Mistpelt said you'd opened your eyes," he meowed happily. "I wanted to come and see the Clan's newest members. I'm Feathernose, and I'm a ground dasher. Who are you?"

Fawnkit swallowed nervously, then lifted her chin. She was surprised to be adressed to formerly by such a respected warrior. "Fawnkit," she answered. "Those are my siblings sleeping next to Gingerwhisker. They're called Pinekit, Smallkit, Mosskit, and Copperkit. Mom says I'll have lots of fun with so many siblings, but none of them have opened their eyes yet!"

"I have." Pinekit's sleepy mew came from in between Mosskit and Copperkit. "I was awake last night, and was bored, so I decided to open them. Only nobody was awake yet, so I went back to sleep."

The little she-kit bounced excitedly. "Cool!" she said happily. "I wish Gingerwhisker would let me go outside now, but we need another cat with their eyes open."

Pinekit stretched his tiny brown tabby mouth into a yawn. "I think Smallkit has, too," he told Fawnkit. "I heard somecat talking to mother while you were off talking to Riverkit and Lakekit. It sounded like a she-kit. And Gingerwhisker did adress her as such. She called her Smallkit."

Feathernose turned away from the kits' conversation and back to his own offspring. Gingerwhisker's kits turned their heads to look at the small black and white kit, who had lifted her head and was staring at them. She blinked her eyes. Fawnkit looked into their deep amber depths and saw only kindness and determination.

"Hi, Smallkit," she meowed. "I'm Fawnkit, and this is Pinekit. We're your brother and sister."

Smallkit nodded, as if she had already known. "The sparkly black cat told me all about you," she mewed. "She says I have two other sisters as well!"

Pinekit and Fawnkit exchanged a quick glance. Sparkly black cat?

"Well, Pinekit, wake up Gingerwhisker!" Fawnkit mewed excitedly as she realized what she could be doing right now. "Tell her you and Smallkit have opened your eyes. We can go outside now!"

In the back of the nursery, Mistpelt stirred, her gray tabby fur shining like silver in the light. She looked up at the kits, amusement shining in her amber gaze. "Well, it looks like you won't have to wait much longer to be outside then, Fawnkit," the queen purred. "I'm sure Riverkit, Lakekit, and Acornkit will show you around once Feathernose has left. They were awfully eager to show you younger kits around. Now that I think about it, I was excited too when I gave my first camp tour."

Just then, Gingerwhisker sat up, her ginger and white fur ruffled from sleep. She listened kindly to Pinekit, who was jumping happily from paw-to-paw. "I suppose now it will be alright," she murmured. "But be careful! Don't get under the warriors' paws and make sure you stay away from Ravenstar! He doesn't need interupting right now."

All three kits nodded and ran after Riverkit as he jumped out of the nursery entrance. Sunlight streamed down through the pine trees, and a warm wind blew, telling the cats that newleaf was coming very soon. Everycat seemed to be occupied with cleaing out the snow from the camp. Even a frail-looking dark brown she-cat was pushing an extremely large lump of the snow out through the entrance. She looked too tired, but her breathing was steady and she wa pushing it quite quickly.

"That's Mothdrift," Lakekit told her. "She's the oldest warrior we have, but she's never weakened or gotten too slow. She's a ground dasher, so she spends most of her time running after prey through the forest."

Fawnkit nodded, hanging on to every word. The five moon old kits led her over to two large den near a hole in the wall, and Fawnkit guessed the hole was the camp entrance.

Riverkit pointed to the left den with his tail. "The ground dashers sleep in here," he meowed. Then he pointed to the other den, saying, "That's for the tunnel runners. They prefer to be underground, so their den in through that hole. I've never been down there, but Mistpelt says she went when she was an apprentice, and that it is the warmest den of all."

The younger kits stared at it in awe. Such a warm den should be for the kits and elders, but then, they would hate being underground so much!

The older kits took Fawnkit to the next den, slightly smaller than the ground dashers' den. A dark gray and black tom was sitting outside the den, grooming himself. He gave the kits a slight nod as they approached, then went back to grooming. "Welcome to the apprentice den, kits," the tom meowed. "I'm Rockypaw. And you must be Smallkit, Fawnkit and Pinekit. First time out of the nurseryy, right?"

Smallkit nodded. She looked more excited at every den than the last. Her tail twitched as Riverkit explained the apprentices' den. "All the apprentices sleep here," he meowed. "I'll be here with Lakekit and Acornkit next moon. And then we'll be apprentices!"

Fawnkit sighed. She wouldn't be an apprentice in forever. Five whole moons? That was a long time! She waved her tail goodbye to Rockypaw and followed the kits to the next den. It was a tunnel to a clearing, with a large rock inside. The rock has a hole inside it, and a brown tortoiseshell she-cat was sorting through some leaves on the floor. She looked up as the kits entered.

"Hi, Riverkit," she meowed. "And Lakekit and Acornkit, of course." Then she caught sight of the newer kittens. "This is the medicine den," the tortoiseshell told them. "I'm Maplepaw, the apprentice medicine cat. I'm apprenticed to our official medicine cat, Oakfall. We sleep in this rock. Our job is to heal cats that are sick or wounded."

Fawnkit nodded, knowing she would never, ever sleep permanently in here. Smallkit, however, seemed excited at the thought of healing. She turned to look at Riverkit. "I'm going to stay here and look around," she meowed calmly. "I'll see the rest of the camp later."

Lakekit shrugged. "Whatever you say," she meowed, turning and leading the rest of the group out of the medicine den and clearing. The next stop was an old burned up log. It was hollowed out, and three cat-shapes could be made out in the darkness of it. One of them lifted its head as they aproached.

"Kits, welcome!" it purred. "Riverkit, how is Mistpelt? Is she doing well with the new bundles in the nursery?"

Riverkit nodded happily. "Smallkit, Fawnkit, and Pinekit have already opened their eyes, and now we're showing them around the camp," he meowed. "Smallkit is talking to Maplepaw now, so she'll be here later." Then he turned to Pinekit and Fawnkit. "This is Burnwhisker. She's the youngest elder, so she remembers what it was like to be, uh, young."

Burnwhisker grunted. "Yeah, right. I couldn't remember what it was like being young if my life depended on it. I may be the youngest elder, but I've been in here for three seasons already. However, I do remember tunnel running. Why, there was this one time where Stonedrift, he was my apprentice then, and I were going through the new tunnel WindClan had dug, since they had been our allies. It was a dark tunnel. I could see perfectly, as all tunnel runners could, but Stonepaw was having trouble, since he'd never been through tunnels this deep before. He crashed right into a pair of young WindClan tunnel runners, Snakebite and Rabbitpaw. They told us to run as fast as we could. The tunnel was collapsing! So We turned tail and ran, and sure enough we came out onto RiverClan territory. Right next to the river! We were still running, and we splashed right in. Oh, Fogstar was so angry, he thought we were attacking. Never heard so much hissing in my life from a tom. Well, we never went into those tunnels again, or tried to build more. Ask Stonedrift about it, and to this day he shakes his fur out as if it were still wet."

Fawnkit stared at the she-cat, amazed. Did all tunnel runners have cool stories like that to share to the Clan when they got old? She hoped so. Maybe the other two elders had tunnel runner stories, too!

The older kits laughed. "Burnwhisker, you should get some better stories," Acornkit meowed. "I hope I get some cool stories when I'm a warrior."

Burnwhisker chuckled happily. "Well, now, you'll all get stories like that if you just train hard and be the best warrior you can be. You should ask Stumpyfoot about the time he got stuck on the same branch as the old wasp's nest. It'll make you laugh harder than you've ever laughed before."

Fawnkit nodded, hoping Stumpfoot would tell hr now, but Riverkit pushed her away again, bidding goodbye to Burnwhisker. Now they were in front of a tree with a large cave under its roots. A black she-cat was sitting inside. "That's Ravenstar," Acornkit whispered. "We shouldn't bother her. She looks busy. You'll meet her later, at your first Clan meeting."

Ravenstar suddenly looked up at the kits, mewed hello, then went back to her work. _Wow,_ Fawnkit thought. _I just got a hello from Ravenstar, the Clan leader! I wonder... is she a ground dasher or a tunnel runner?_

Just then, she heard her voice being called from the nursery. Fawnkit turned to look to se Smallkit sittiing next to Gingerwhisker by the den. Pinekit waved goodbye to the older kits with his tail, and they ran for thei mother.

"We saw the whole camp!" Pinekit squeaked exctiedly. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

Suddenly, a cry came from the camp entrance as a pale gray tom led a battle-scarred patrol into camp. "Stonedrift!" Gingerwhisker ran to the gray tom and rubbed against him. He was breathing heavily, but seemed comforted that his mate was with him now.

Ravenstar padded coolly from her den and gazed calmly at Stonedrift.

He took a deep breath before reporting to her. "ThunderClan are stealing are prey. And they killed Pricklethorn!"

**AN; Hope you all liked this chapter. Pricklethorn is just another tunnel runner. ThunderClan killed her because they needed to steal the prey. Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Lithuanian Monday!**

~GreeceXCats527

(Don't forget to submit your character as a kit! I'm really looking forward to using them. Send in as many as you'd like, but I may end up having them die, or changing their personality a bit to bend with the story)


	4. Chapter 2

**AN; I hope you like this chapter. Please R&R. Constructive critisism is welcomed! Happy Canadian Tuesday!**

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**Chapter 2**

"But I want to go to the meeting! Why can't I go to the meeting?" Mosskit complained as Gingerwhisker groomed her head fur. She squirmed away from her mother's pulling tongue, and Copperkit snickered in the corner. Fawnkit watched as Mosskit turned and jumped on Copperkit.

Smallkit sighed in disgust at their play-fighting. She never joined in, but unlike Acornkit, when she did, she always other kits were sitting in a corner, talking about training.

"I bet Rockypaw will help me a lot if I'm a tunnel runner," Lakekit boasted. "He's always so nice, he'll just have too!"

Riverkit snorted in annoyance. "Well, my mentor might be Ravenstar," he meowed. "Mistpelt said so, and that means Ravenstar is my mentor!"

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Long Branch for a Clan meeting!"

The yowl came from the clearing, and the older kits jumped through the entrance. Mistpelt, Swiftstorm, and Gingerwhisker headed outas well, leaving Fawnkit and her littermates alone in the nursery.

Mosskit sat down with a huff. "I wish we could go to the meeting," she grumbled. "Riverkit gets to go to the meeting, so why shouldn't we?"

"Lakekit and Acornkit go, too," Pinekit reminded her. "And we don't get to go because we're only half a moon old. They are five and a half moons old. Gingerwhisker says we can go to a meeting when we're two and a half moons old. So we can wait. It's not like being an apprentice will lighten Gingerwhisker's protectiveness. It might increase it! And we'll have so many chores to do."

Smallkit rolled her eyes. She never understood why the other kits fought about warrior stuff. "Yeah, going to a meeting would be nice," she began, "but I'm not really interested in all this stuff. I mean, I guess being a warrior will be cool, I just hope I'm a tunnel runner!"

The kits laughed out loud. "Well, of course you do!" Copperkit purred. "We all do, except for Mosskit and Pinekit. They want to be ground dashers."

Pinekit sniffed. "It's not bad!" he complained. "Mistpelt and Gingerwhisker are bother ground dashers. Why shouldn't we bo?"

Mosskit quickly nodded with agreement. She padded over to stand beside Pinekit. "We're going to be the best ground dashers the Clan has ever seen!" she boasted.

Now Fawnkit rolled her eyes. "At least you'll fit in," she complained. "Ground dashers are all so full of themselves."

"Hey!" Mosskit leapt at Fawnkit, trying to pin her down, but the small she-cat step-sided before her sister could land on her. She jumped onto Mosskit's back, slamming down with her thick paws. The brown and white she-kit squealed in pain and she rolled over, jumping up beside Pinekit. "At least you'll fit in with filthy tunnel runners," she spat. "Your even tinier than Rockypaw!"

Fawnkit unsheathed her claws and clenched her teeth. "Oh, it is on!" she yowled, leaping at Mosskit and pinning her to the ground.

"Ouch, Fawnkit, you're hurting me!" Mosskit cried, squirming away. "Why would you do that to me? I'm your sister! You attacked me!"

Copperkit stared at her sister dumbfoundedly. "Looks like Tiny just got big," she whispered as Fawnkit stared down at her white paws, now slightly pink with Mosskit's blood.

The dark brown and white she-kit sprinted out of the den to go and see Oakfall. Fawnkit watched her go, both amazed and horrified at what she had done. Attacking a Clanmate was strictly against the warrior code. What's more, she had done it deliberately!

Fawnkit slumped down onto her belly. She stared at the entrance to the nursery awaiting Mosskit's return. But it was Gingerwhisker's ginger and white head that appeared first. She looked at Fawnkit and sighed. "I thought I told you kits not to play so roughly!"

Copperkit sneered at Fawnkit. "Fawnkit attacked Mosskit!" she mewed to Gingerwhisker. "Mosskit didn't even provoke her, and she just attacked her!"

"Is this true?" Gingerwhisker's eyes reflected shock.

Fawnkit nodded. "But she called me tiny!" she meowed.

Gingerwhisker sighed. "After all that has happened between you littermates, I thought you'd know better by now," she murmured sadly.

"What was the meeting about?" Copperkit asked, and Fawnkit was relieved that the matter of Mosskit's injuries had been settled.

Gingerwhisker sighed again. "Ravenstar was discussing what to do about ThunderClan," she meowed. "She says we'll be attacking them next time they do this. And we'll strike directly at the heart, in their camp."

Fawnkit gasped. I was a hard decision for a leader to decide to go into battle, even harder if they had seen what a wrong decision about battle could do, if you'd made a wrong decision before, as Gingerwhisker said Ravenstar had. If this battle was wrong, cats could die!

She nuzzled her mother gently. "Ravenstar will make the right decision," she promised her mother. "But, one more question. When Riverkit, Lakekit and Acornkit become apprentices, we'll get to watch their ceremony, right?"

Gingerwhisker purred with amusement. "Yes, Fawnkit, of course you will be able to go to their ceremony," she answered happily. "But only if you behave. Ravenstar won't want five kits running around in the clearing like a lovestruck fox. After all, apprentice-namings are one of the most serious ceremonies of all, and one of the most important in a warrior or medicine cat's life."

Pinekit nodded from beside Smallkit. Of course it was! Did Gingerwhisker think they didn't know that? They wouldn't dare ruin the other kits' apprentice ceremony. It would be completely rude.

"Well," Gingerwhisker continued, "at least you know that much. Now, can any cat please tell me who put these thorns on Fawnkit's side of the nest? She could have gotten cut by them."

Copperkit answered again. "Mosskit did," she mewed. "Her excact words were, 'At least Tinykit won't be around tomorrow to be annoying again. She'll be crying in the medicine den! She is such a baby.' I told her not to, well, sort of, but she just insisted. She says Tinykit - I mean, Fawnkit - deserved it!"

Just then, Mosskit returned. She sat staring angrily at Copperkit, her eyes narrowed into an annoyed glare. They sparked with untrust, and she gritted her teeth. Then she smiled sweet and innocently up at Gingerwhisker. "Why would I do such a thing?" she asked kindly. "Copperkit did it, and I was going to tell you, but never got time to. She's just a liar."

Now it was Gingerwhisker to look unstrutngly at the ginger, brown, and white she-cat. Copperkit's ears flattened under her mother's glare. "She's lieing!" she cried and Gingerwhisker placed her outside and scolded her. "She's been so mean to us lately, Gingerwhisker, you have to see! Stonedrift would understand."

And Fawnkit didn't hear anymore before Mosskit cornered her against the wall. "You dare rat me out?" she spat. "I'll teach you, you tiny, pitiful, miserable excuse of a cat! You'll pay. Even though I didn't get caught, I almost did. I will personaly make sure you never become a tunnel runner. You will become a ground dasher, like Gingerwhisker wants," she mewed, unsheathing her claws, "or you will pay..."

She growled out the last words just as Gingerwhisker re-entered from scolding Copperkit, and Mosskit turned to look at her mother, forcing out tears. She sniffled, and Gingerwhisker comforted her by licking her between the ears. But Fawnkit saw right through Mosskit's disguise. And all that was under it was a big, fat, bully.


	5. Chapter 3

**AN; Here is chapter 3. This s really hard for me to write because Mosskit is my character, and she's really nice! So, as you can imagine, corrupting my character is very hard for me.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Fawnkit lay sprawled in her nest, moonlight shining on her back. She was thinking about what had happened earlier, what Mosskit had said. Why did her sister have to be so mean? She couldn't help that she was tiny! Lots of ground dashers were tiny.

_I'll have to tell Gingerwhisker my secret wish soon,_ Fawnkit thought nervously. _Even though everycat thinks I'm going to be a tunnel runner. But I know that becoming that wouldn't make Gingerwhisker proud. A ground dasher is what I want, and a ground dasher is what I will be!_

After telling herself this, Fawnkit felt a lot better about her day before. After all, Mosskit couldn't keep a threat like that. Making a Clanmate pay for something they didn't even do was against the warrior code. You were supposed to respect your Clanmates, and try to understand them. Not punish them for something they couldn't control, like Mosskit was trying to do.

The brown she-kit closed her eyes. She was tired as can be, and she knew that she needed to sleep so she could play with the other kits in the morning. But Mosskit's glinting claws and angry glare was the only thing she saw when she closed her eyes. _Maybe, if I go to sleep outside, I'll forget all about Mosskit and the others' teasing, _she thought, so she rolled up her nest and went outside.

* * *

The air outside was cool, common for early newleaf, and Fawnkit settled down in a path of moonlight beside the ground dashers' den. She could feel the warmth coming from their bodies go through the bushy wall. It encloaked her like a blanket, andsoon she was asleep.

When Fawnkit had woken, the camp was already alive with the chatter and buzz of any usual day. The elders were snoring across the clearing, Riverkit and Acornkit were arguing whether ground dashers or tunnel runners would be a better pick for them, Stonedrift was organizing patrols, and the nursery queens were gossiping as usual. Everything was in place, just as it should be. Everything, that is, except for Fawnkit and her nest.

One of the ground dashers who had been on a late patrol was just waking up, and he stumbled over Fawnkit as he walked outside. "Uh, sorry," he muttered as he made his way over to Stonedrift with heavy, sleepy pawsteps.

Gingerwhisker, who was just coming outside, spotted Fawnkit and ran over quickly. She licked her kit between the ears rougly a few times. "Oh, my dear Fawnkit, why weren't you in the nursery this morning with your littermates?" she asked between licks as Fawnkit's siblings bounded after her.

Fawnkit ducked away from her mother's tongue. "I couldn't sleep, so I slept outside," she answered, before following Pinekit over to talk to Lakekit. Gingerwhisker watched them leave, Copperkit by her side. They looked alike enough that any cat would know they were related.

"Hi Fawnkit! Pinekit!" Lakekit greeted them warmly when they went over to her. "Chilly day, isn't it?"

Wingpaw, who was following his mentor out on a tunnel patrol, snorted with distaste. "The first of many," he growled. "At least we know newleaf is coming, or I might not have survived this freezing weather."

"Just like old Patchyfur," Lakekit murmured. She sighed, then turned back to Pinekit and Fawnkit. "Want to go see if Stumpyfoot will tell us a story? We was a tunnel runner, just like Burnwhisker."

The younger kits nodded eagerly and followed Lakekit into the elders tree stump. The only cat awake was a dark gray tom with his right front paw missing. Fawnkit gasped as she tared at the paw. No wonder they called him Stumpyfoot!

Stumpyfoot looked up as the kits entered his den. He sat up in his nest and made room for the kits to sit with him. "Lakekit, you haven't come to see me in a while," he meowed, his voice a quiet, rough rasp. "What's on your mind?"

"Tell us a story!" Pinekit piped before Lakekit could answer. "Uh, I mean, pleasse."

The young tom trailed off as Stumpyfoot chuckled warmly. "How about I tell you the time I fought off an entire patrol of ThunderClan warriors with only Quiettongue, Patchyfur, and Burnwhisker to help?"

When the kits all nodded eagerly, the elderly dark gray tom began. "It was the middle of greenleaf, many many moon ago, back when we were all apprentices. I was Pathpaw, Patchyfur was Peatpaw, Quiettongue was Whistlepaw, and Burnwhisker was Poppypaw. We had only been apprentices for a little while, and it was time for our third assessment, since we were three quarters of the way to our warrior assessment. Our job was to track Raventar - she was Ravensong then - along the ThunderClan border. So we split up into groups, since Ravensong was known for doubling back. Whistlepaw and Poppypaw went off together, so Peatpaw and I set off, following Ravensong's original trail. Our plan was to meet in the middle and trap her.

"Then we heard a yowl. It was Ravensong! We sprinted toward her voice and found a ginger tom standing over her, tearing through her flesh. When he saw Peatpaw and I, he let her limp into the trees back to camp to get back-up. I told Peatpaw we had to attack, and the others, who saw us from the bushes, saw me wave my tail in an attack sign. As one we leapt and tackled the ThunderClan warriors. A young she-cat named Briarwhisker - you won't know her, she died from the injuries we gave her, poor thing - attacked me, and we fought together in a hissing, snarling fit. We fought without fear, as if the whole of StarClan were fighting with us. And by the time Darkstar's patrol of warriors came to help, the patrol had fled. Ha, imagine, four apprentices defeating a whole group of ThunderClanners.

"Well, we soon recieved our warrior names that night. And we were called Pathfinder - after my father, Berryfinder - Peatnose, Poppyface, and Whistleheart. And those ThunderClan warriors never bothered us again. Until the fire, we kept those names. Well, when I lost my foot, I became an elder, and Stumpyfoot. Peatnose got old, and his fur all fell out, except for some, so he was Patchyfur. Quiettongue, well, she lost her voice in the fire. And Burnwhisker's whiskers are singed from the fire, so she took that name when she retired."

Fawnkit stared up at Stumpyfoot, astonished. She could have listened to him all day! But before she could ask for another story, movement in the back of the tree made the she-kit look away. She could make our the figure of another cat, skinny, boney, and its fur sticking out in odd places. Stumpyfoot purred as she wobbled over to sit with them.

When the cat came into the sunlight, Fawnkit saw that it was a she-cat. She was a brown she-cat, and Fawnkit guessed she had been beautiful once before. But age had destroyed that beauty, though the elder looked happy to be alive today. She flicked her tail and closed her eyes, like a cat did when they were purring. Only, Fawnkit was amazed by this, the elder didn't purr at all.

"Fawnkit, Pinekit, this is Quiettongue," Stumpyfoot meowed happily. "She says hello, and asked your names."

Pinekit and Fawnkit exchanged a glance. How did he know that?

"I'm Fawnkit, and this is my brother, Pinekit," Fawnkit finally answered. "We are two of Gingerwhisker and Stonedrift's kits. It is nice to meet you."

Quiettongue closed her eyes again in a silent purr, then turned to Stumpyfoot and flicked her tail. She stomped on the ground this time, though, and bared her teeth. Stumpyfoot's smile faded. He sighed as he turned to the kits. "She says that Ravenstar will be angry to find you sitting around here listening to elders' tales," he mewed quietly. "She's more interested in fighting and hunting than sitting around here learning about other cats' pasts. So, Lakekit, why don't you go and show them a few moves, eh? You'll be an apprentice in a few days, remember?"

Lakekit's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "Come on, guys. Thank you, Stumpyfoot andd Quiettongue!" she called over her shoulder to the two happy elders as she dashed away.

Fawnkit followed her quickly, but she wasn't nearly as fast. They ran straight of to a dip covered in sand. "This is where the apprentices practice," Lakekit told them. "Ravenstar announced at the Clan meeting that kits can play here now. So, Pinekit, come here. Fawnkit, watch this move."

Pinekit looked terrified, but did as he was told. His sister watched happily as Lakekit crouched and crawled around Pinekit. He sat still, and then, Lakekit pounced on him, pinning his to the ground.

"See, now there's a perfect example of the Lightning Crawl!"

The happy purr startled Fawnkit, and she looked up to see Ravenstar watching the group of kits play. She was watching Lakekit mostly, though. When Lakekit finally stepped off of Pinekit, she looked up. Ravenstar's eyes glowed with pride. She put her tail across Lakekit's shoulders and led her into the leader's den beneath the tree.

There was a growl from Riverkit, who was watching them through narrowed eyes. "Ravenstar was supposed to be my mentor," he snarled. "Not hers! She knows that! But no, she always has to have the best. Even Mistpelt and Feathernose think so!"

Acornkit was watching too, but his eyes revealed only pride, nothing more. "She wasn't trying to," he reassured Riverkit. "And it's not her fault Ravenstar though it was perfect. She only was watching at the right time for Lakekit."

Riverkit shrugged his brother off. "Well, Ravenstar promised me she'd be my mentor, and I'm going to make her keep it," he growled, turning away to go and talk with Rockypaw. "Or else."

Just then, Fawnkit turned to see Maplepaw taking Smallkit over to them. "She says she had been looking for you everywhere!" Maplepaw purred happily. "I thought you'd still be in the elders' den, but Quiettongue said you'd left."

Both kits looked confused. Quiettongue s_aid_? She probably just motioned.

"Come on, Smallkit! Race you to the fresh-kill pile!" Pinekit called, darting off, with Smallkit scrabbling to chase after him. Maplepaw laughed as they watched, but Fawnkit couldn't supress a sigh. She was still thinking about Riverkit and Ravenstar's promise to him. Could the leader really be thinking of going back on a promise to a kit? That would be horrible!

Fawnkit decided she was hungry when her stomach started to growl. She trotted after her littermates, forcing a purr, and chose a mouse to share with Copperkit, who was watching them. The ginger and brown she-kit had been confined to a little area outside the nursery, which Mistpelt had drawn with a claw. So Fawnkit carefully stepped ove the line, as not to disturb it, and put down the mouse.

"Thanks," Copperkit muttered, taking a bite. She ate two more bites, then let Fawnkit have the rest. "I'm not that hungry," she meowed. "Besides, if I eat anything more, it'll be Mosskit." Copperit narrowed her eyes at the brown and white she-kit, who was talking to Willowpaw beside the apprentices' den.

Fawnkit guessed that Willowpaw was annoyed by her sister, because she kept snarling at Mosskit from the looks of things. Mosskit lifted her nose in the air, sniffed, and left.

_Serves her right for putting those thorns in my nest and getting Copperkit in trouble for it_, Fawnkit thought angrily as Wingpaw took Mosskit's legs out from under her. The brown and white cat fell, and the apprentices all laughed. Even Rockypaw.

But then another thought threatened to slip into Fawnkit's mind. Was Mosskit only being mean because she was, or was it cause by something else?


	6. Chapter 4

**AN; Hello again! I'm back. So, I'd like to thank Bloodclaw of ThunderClan for reviewing. I happily await your cat character submissions. Please send as many as you'd like. Okay, now here is chapter 4.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Longbranch for a Clan meeting!"

Fawnkit cleaned her paws and whiskers as she finished off her mouse, shared with Stumpyfoot - he had offered to sare with her since the apprentices had caught lots - and padded over to sit beside Gingerwhisker under the Longbranch. She gazed up at Ravenstar, who was standing importantly on the Longbranch, looking down at her Clan. The rest of ShadowClan soon assembled, and the meeting began.

Ravenstar cleared her throat. "The time has come to name three new apprentices," she meowed. "Acornkit, Riverkit, Lakekit, come forward. Acornkit, you have chosen the path of a tunnel runner. May StarClan guide your paws as you run through the many tunnels that you will now call home. Snowheart." Ravenstar flicked her tail as the white she-cat stood up. "You have shown exceptional abilities in tunnel running, and Quiettongue was a good mentor to you. Please pass on all of these skills to young Acornpaw."

Snowheart bent down to touch Acornpaw's nose. The Clan shouted his name, and Ravenstar silenced them with her tail. "Lakekit, you have chosen the path of a ground dasher. May StarClan light the skies as you hunt and fight for the territory you now may roam. Your new name shall be Lakepaw. I will be your mentor."

She jumped down from the Longbranch and touched noses with her new apprentice. Fawnkit saw Lakepaw shiver with excitement s the Clan shouted her new name.

Then Ravenstar climbed back up to finish the ceremony. "Riverkit, you have also chosen the path of a ground dasher. May StarClan light the skies as you hunt and fight for the territory you now may roam. Tallwhisker." The black tom stood up as she called his name. "You know every pawstep of ShadowClan's land like your own pelt, and Patchyfur was a good mentor to you. Please pass on all of these skills to young Riverpaw."

Riverpaw was hesitant, then he finlly sighed and touched his nose to Tallwhisker's. "Riverpaw! Riverpaw!" Fawnkit cheered, wondering if he really liked his mentor at all.

"Two more things!" Ravenstar called, calming her Clan down. "Well, three more, that is. It is time for ShadowClan to gain three more warriors."

She cleared her throat before continuing. "I, Ravenstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these three apprentices. They have trained hard in the ways of your noble code, and I condemn them to you as warriors in their turn. Rockypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The dark gray and black tom blinked, then nodded. "Yes, I do."

Ravenstar blinked warmly at him before continuing. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Rockypaw, from this moment you shall be known as Rockystep. StarClan honors your courage and leadership, and we welcome you as a new tunnel runner of ShadowClan."

The black she-cat rested her head on Rockystep's head, and he licked his shoulder before Ravenstar jumped back up to the Longbranch and continued.

"Wingpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The brown tabby tom mewed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan," Ravenstar continued, "I give you your warrior name. Wingpaw, from this moment you shall be known as Wingshine. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and kindness, and we welcome you as a new tunnel runner of ShadowClan."

They repeated the process of Ravenstar putting her chin on Wingshine's head, and the new warrior licking her shoulder. Then Ravenstar finished, turning to Willowpaw.

"Willowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, aand to protect and defned this Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Willowpaw quickly answered.

Ravenstar continued, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Willowpaw, from this moment you shall be known as Willowheart. StarClan honors your heart and spirit, and we welcome you as a new ground dasher of ShadowClan."

"Rockystep! Wingshine! Willowheart! Rockystep! Wingshine! Willowheart!" Fawnkit cheered with the rest of the Clan. Ravenstar dismissed the meeting, and cats cluttered around the new warriors to congratulate them.

She was a bit dissapointed that when she was an apprentice, they wouldn't be her denmates, but then she remembered that Willowheart might be her mentor! So Fawnkit padded up to them. "Congratulations!" she meowed before being shoved away by Snowheart and Acornpaw as they moved over to the new warriors.

Fawnkit flattened her ears grumpily and went to sit with Stonedrift. "They'll pay attenton to you when you're bigger," he promised her, wrapping his tail around his daughter's shoulders.

"Okay," she mumbled as Gingerwhisker came over to sit with them. The ginger and white she-cat blinked fondly at her mate.

"I'm glad you won't have that nusiance bothering you anymore," she purred, flicking her tail at Rockystep. "He did get quite annoying, running around, always prancing about the camp."

Stonedrift merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I'll be sharing a den with his tomorrow night," he answered jokingly. "At least you'll be in the nice and quiet nursery."

* * *

Fawnkit opened her eyes as a loud trampling filled her ears. She peered out through the nursery entrance and saw Wingshine leading the dawn patrol back from the borders. It had been three moons since he'd been made a warrior, and he still made nust as much noise as a new-born kit.

Acornpaw and Snowheart followed right behind him with Tallwhisker. They had been patroling the tunnel entrances and part of the overground territory edges. And Acornpaw looked excited as usual as they crawled out of the camp tunnel.

"Psst! Hey, Acornpaw!" Fawnkit hissed. The reddish-brown tom looked up and saw her. He trotted over as Fawnkit crawled outside.

She had gotten a lot bigger since he had become an apprentice, and she was nearly half his size. But it didn't matter to her how big she was, because she loved herself just the way he was. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" Acornpaw asked.

Fawnkit rolled her eyes. "How can anycat sleep with_ him_ trampling about everywhere?" she asked, flicking her tail at Wingshine who was crunching his way down into the tunnel runners' den. Stonedrift's head appeared in the tunnel, snapped something angrily at him, then dissapeared again. The pale gray warrior was always cranky in the morning.

"So, how's your training?" Fawnkit asked.

Acornpaw sighed. "Could be better," he answered truthfully. "Snowheart is a good mentor and all, but she doesn't explain things as thouroughly as I need them to be, and when I ask her to slow down, she ignores me! It's completely annoying, and sometimes I wish she wasn't my mentor."

"Wow, strong words," Fawnkit murmured. "Well, I wish you luck with Snowheart." She blinked goodbye and ducked back into the nursery. Was Snowheart really such a bad mentor? She couldn't be!

As Fawnkit went to her nest, she couldn't help but look over he shoulder and watch Acornpaw trot after Snowheart, Tallwisker and Wingshine to their dens. While she was watching, she tripped over somecat's tail. Looking up, Fawnkit saw the dark, round, black shape of Shortclaw. Her kits couldn't be more than two moons away, she was so big!

The black she-cat, wo was surprisingly awake, caught Fawnkit staring. She let out a low, rumbling purr. "Only a couple of moons now," she whispered. "Then you'll have new denmates to play with. Won't that be exciting, little Fawnkit?"

Fawnkit rolled her eyes. "Sure," she muttered. Why didn't the warriors get it? She didn't want to play, she wanted to be a ground dasher apprentice now!

The small brown she-cat made her way back to her nest. She curled up, her tail-tip over her nose, and went back to sleep.

In the morning, Fawnkit and Smallkit went to visit Copperkit. She had fallen off of the Longbranch, trying to climb it and be a miniature Ravenstar, and now she was in thhe medicine den, her twisted paw healing. Maplepaw and Oakfall were with two patients; Crowflight, who was wheezing quite a lot, and Willowheart, a scar on her chest healing from a border squirmish with WindClan.

When Maplepaw saw them enter, she smiled. "Right over there," the brown tortoiseshell meowed flicking her tail over where the ginger, brown, and white she-cat was digging into a mouse.

Fawnkit saw that her right front paw was wrapped in cobwebs. She smelled strongly of herbs. "Oh, hey guys," Copperkit muttered. "Stonedrift just came to tell me my punishment for climbing the Longbranch. I'm going to be a kit for two extra moons."

Smallkit gasped. "How horrible!" she breathed. "You'll have to wait until Shortclaw's kits are three moons old!"

Fawnkit's ear twitched. Weren't Shortclaw's kits due in two moons instead of one? She listened to Smallkit and Copperkit chat before deciding to go and visit Quiettongue. The elderly she-cat was nearing her end, and she always wanted extra company.

"Hi, Stumpyfoot, Burnwhisker," she mewed as she entered. "Is Quiettongue here?"

Burnwhisker and the dark gray tom exchanged a glance. "About that," Stumpyfoot mumbled. "Look, Fawnkit, she wanted to say good-bye, she really did, but she was afraid Maplepaw and Oakfall might stop her if she told them and, well, she's by the gorge."

"W-what?" Fawnkit stammered. She'd heard about the gorge before, how a WindClan apprentice had hated his life so much he'd jumped. It was a new story, about a tom called Brackenpaw. Had Quiettongue decided to visit his grave? No, an elder would never go near the dangerous gorge. Unless...

"Oakfall! Maplepaw! Help!" Fawnkit ran out of the elders' trunk, shrieking. "Quiettongue is going to jump into the gorge!"

Stonedrift was up and out of his den in an instant. Oakfall and Maplepaw came out of their den as well, followed by Crowflight. Son the whole Clan had gathered, and Fawnkit told them what she knew was happening.

Maplepaw and Oakfall sped away, Stonedrift on his heels with a patrol. Now all Fawnkit could do was sit with the elders and wait.

* * *

**AN; Sorry if you liked Quiettongue. I had to make a cliffhanger, though. It's going to be sad, she might die, she might not.**

**Bloodclaw of ThunderClan: Thank you soooooooooooooo much for your cats. I'm sure Shortclaw will love them. Heh heh, o course she will, they're her kits.  
**

**All of Shortclaw's kits have been decided. Anybody else who wants to review, please leave cats, or I'm going to make Smallheart do it.**

**Smallkit: Oh, no.**

**Ah, well, let's get going, shall we? I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy British Friday!**

(Scarletfang, if you are reading this, please send me a review.) (I know her... yeah...)

**~GreeceXCats527**


	7. Chapter 5

**AN; Chapter 5 is up! Yahoo! Or yeehaw! Or whatever!**

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**Chapter 5**

Stonedrift finally returned, Oakfall and Maplepaw carrying a sodden Quiettongue on their backs. A spitting black she-cat and a dark brown tabby tom were also being herded behind them.

Ravenstar padded carefully out of her den and looked at the mysterous cats quizically. "Stonedrift," she began, lookong back at her deputy, "what are these loners doing here? Did they try to hurt Quiettongue? Did they push her?"

"Why would we waste our time killing a useless Clan cat?" she she-cat spat. "She was trying to kill herself, as it was. And this moron here just had to jump in and save her."

The black leader looked at the tom. "Is that ture?" she whispered. "You, you saved Quiettongue?"

The tom shrugged. "Just anything a former warrior would do," he meowed. The tabby looked around the ShadowClan camp. He nodded approvingly at each den he saw, and blinked warmly a each kit. Then he turned back to Ravenstar. "Quite a Clan you've got here, mother. You seem to have moved on very quickly."

Ravenstar froze, her eyes staring at the tom. "F-f-frostkit? Is it really you?" She rushed toward the tom, purring loudly. He shrunk away from her, narrowing his eyes.

"I thought I'd be welcomed warmly," he growled quietly. "We need to stay, so I guess it is a good sign. Echo's last litter, it- didn't make it."

The black she-cat brushed against Frostkit. "Yes," she murmured, looking up at Ravenstar. "We need your help. Please let us join your Clan. I fear my kits will not survive if we don't."

Ravenstar nodded. "But of course. Will you take warrior names?"

* * *

"StarClan, these two cats, Frost and Echo, ask for your help," Ravenstar meowed from the Longbranch. "They have promised to support your warrior code and to become honorary members of this Clan. Frost, from this moment you shall be called Frostnose. We welcome you as an all-around warrior. Echo, you will be called Echoleap. You, as well, shall be an all-around warrior. We hope your kits grow up big and strong in the moons to come."

Ravenstar dismissed the Clan, and Fawnkit sat beside Acornpaw in front of Quiettongue's body. "Has everycat forgotten about Quiettongue?" Fawnkit asked his quietly.

Acornpaw shook his head. "Of course not," he purred. "They're just glad to have two new warriors, is all. I'm sure they'll share tongues with Quiettongue in a moment."

Meanwhile, the two cats sat beside the dead elder. Oakfall had looked her over, claiming her dead. So the kit and the apprentice chatted beside her.

"Quiettongue would have loved this," Fawnkit whispered. "So calm, so quiet, so wonderful. Just like her."

Acornpaw nodded in agreement. "She will be missed."

* * *

Fawnkit lay awake in the nursery, sleeping right beside Echoleap. Having the new addition in the den made it even more cramped than usual. The brown she-cat turned and watched Echoleap's flank rise and fall, in the steady rythym of sleep.

Frostnose had insisted in sleeping in the apprentices den, because it was closer to the nursery. Acornpaw wasn't very happy about having a snorer in the den, but he ddn't complain.

Quiettongue would have comforted Fawnkit now, since she was sad. She woul have told her with a flick of her tail and a warm blink from her eyes that everything woould be okay now. But everything would not be okay. Quiettongue was dead, the nursery was crammed, and her best friend was annoyed with the warriors. Nothing would be okay now, and when Shortclaw's kits were born, everything would be worse!

_I'll be an apprentice soon. Then I'll be happy._

* * *

The screaming began. Fawnkit sat outside the nursery with Frostnose, Gingerwhisker, and her littermates. Echoleap's kits were coming, and Maplepaw had pushed them all outside. Now all they couldd do was wait.

Eventually, the screaming ended, and Frostnose hurried inside. Fawnkit fell asleep soon after outside because Echoleap and Frostnose didn't want any other cats inside with their kits. When it finally started pouring, Rockystep rolled his eyes from beside the fresh-kill pile.

"Oh, for StarClan's sake!" he meowed, taking them all down into the tunnel runner's den. It was warm and cozy inside, but there were many nests empty. Fawnkit guessed that once, in a more peaceful time, this den had been completely full. Now it was almost empty.

Copperkit curled up against a wall, and Fawnkit sat beside her. The ginger and brown she-cat's flank rose and fell steadily, seemingly in rythym to the rain pounding on the roof of the den.

The tunnel runners said they didn't mind, but Gingerwhisker still made a fuss about it all. Finally, when Stonedrift returned from the dirt place, the ginger and white queen settled down beside her mate and fell asleep. The once noisy den became quiet, except for the rain.

Fawnkit couldn't fall asleep. She was too excited. What did the kits look like? Would they be friendly? What if they hated her? Which den would be their favorite? Where would they want to go? Why did they have to leave the den when Echoleap was kitting? How did kits even come around?

That last question was bothering Fawnkit, so she prodded Rockystep. (don't worry, nothing bad, I promise!) "Psst! Rockystep, I have a question."

The gray and black tom looked up at her, then sat up in his nest. "What?"

Fawnkit took a deep breath; she knew she should only be asking her parents this. "I want to know where kits come from."

Rockystep looked utterly shocked. "She-cats," he muttered. "Now go to bed."

The little kit sighed. "Fine," she whispered. "_How_ are they made?"

"Well, uh, when a tom and a she-cat really love eachother, and they want to have a baby, uh," he began, "then kittens come. Uh, yeah, yeah! That's it!"

"Okay," Fawnkit meowed, curling back against Copperkit. "Thanks, Rockystep..."

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, Fawnkit was standing in the middle of a meadow, full of different cats. Many of them seemed to have stars in the fur, and they were all standing around a cat without them.

"With this life I give you courage," a cat meowed. As she stepped forward, Fawnkit recognized Quiettongue! The elder was in StarClan. That made her feel a lot better. "Use it well to never back down from a challenge, but to use words instead of claws."

The middle cat touched noses with quiet tongue. She shook a bit, but then went still.

Another cat came forward. Gingerwhisker! "With this life, I give you love," she meowed. "Use it well to care for your Clan, and to make the right decisions."

She touched noses with the middle cat, and just as they started to call something, Fawnkit's dream was interupted by a snappy voice. "Just trust kits to look in on us watching the future."

Fawnkit spun around to see an elderly tom, black and white, baring his teeth at her. "Get out of here while you still can."

When she awoke, Fawnkit forgot her dream, but she knew something was on her mind. She didn't know what yet, though.

In the clearing, Copperkit was helping Echoleap groom her kits. She had brought them outside so she could enjoy some sunshine, and hoped one of them would open their eyes.

The ginger tom with creamy paw had, and sure enough, he was still letting Copperkit groom him. His eyes were a leafy green, an exact replica of Fawnkit's.

Fawnkit went over and sat down next to Echoleap. "So, how are your kits?" she asked cautiously. "Did you name them yet?"

"Sure did," Frostnose mewed as he approached. "The ginger and cream tom is called Foxkit. The pale gray she-cat is Shykit. And the dark brown tabby tom is called Mothkit. I think they like it here, don't you, Echoleap?"

The black she-cat purred. "Of course they do, Frostnose," she meowed happily. "And so do I. You Clan kits are so polite, unlike my littermates out there. They always used to attack me when I walked around, just because I was smaller than them. But look what I'm like now." And with that, Echoleap stood up. For the first time, Fawnkit saw she had big muscles and was very tall.

"Woah," she breathed. Would Fawnkit someday grow up to ever be as big as Echoleap was now? She highly doubted it, but it was worth a thought. (heh heh, get it, thought instead of shock? I'm lame, huh?)

Fawnkit was five and a half moons old today, and she was super excited. Shortclaw's kits were coming soon, and she was going to be an apprentice in a few days! So she set to work grooming herself while Ravenstar jmped onto the Longbranch to call the meeting. Echoleap moved her kits back with her, so she could see better.

"Today, we are making five new apprentices," Ravenstar called. "Fawnkit, Pinekit, Copperkit, Mosskit, and Smallkit, come forward. Smallkit, from this moment you will be called Smallpaw. You have decided to train as a ground dasher. Feathernose, please pass on all the skills I taught you to Smallpaw. Fawnkit, you too, have decided to be a ground dasher. Feathernose, as you know, we are low on warriors to train our apprentices. You will have your paws full training Fawnpaw as well as Smallpaw. Copperkit, you will be Copperpaw. Wingshine, you are not the most experienced tunnel runner, but I trust you will still train Copperpaw well. Mosskit, you shall be called Mosspaw. Willowheart, you have shown exceptional abilities in being a new ground dasher. Please teach Mosspaw all you learned in your apprentice days. Finally, Pinekit, you will be known as Pinepaw. Mothdrift, I understand that you just got rid of your apprentice," the Clan chuckled at that, "but I hope you will still teach Pinepaw well."

The Clan cheered the new names as Fawnpaw touched noses with Feathernose, then Smallpaw. Wasn't it wonderful they had the same mentor? They'd be able to train with eachother all the time! Same patrols, same hunting places, same battle moves. Just perfect, and they could learn together, at whatever pace they needed.

* * *

**AN; I hope you all liked it. I know I skipped a lot of stuff, but Fawnpaw was having some trouble writing this one.**

**Fawnpaw (sits on couch watching Magical Mystery Cure and sips soda lazily): You got that right.**

**Anyway, after a quick chapter 6, I'll put in an updated allegiances. For mainly, me, but you guys can use it too. XD Well, I'll update in, what, half an hour? Until then, peace! And happy Aussie Sunday!**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	8. Chapter 6

**AN: So this is going to be in the point of view of Fawnpaw... as usual... It was originally in Smallpaw's, but this is about Fawnpaw, so I changed it. Heh heh heh... sorry Smallpaw...**

**Smallpaw: You smell horrible, by the way.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Fawnpaw followed Feathernose and Smallpaw back into the camp. They had just finished their tour of the territory. She saw Maplepaw and Oakfall rushing into the nursery with lots of herbs. "Shortclaw must be kitting," was all Feathernose said before he headed to the ground dasher's den to share tongues with Willowheart. Acornpaw and Copperpaw were sitting by the apprentices den, waiting for their return.

"So, how was your first day?" Acornpaw asked coolly.

Fawnpaw shrugged. "It was fun," she answered truthfully. "Feathernose showed us tons. But not all of it. He said that'd take way too long. He also showed us where he hunts mice in the rocks, and showed us how. It was pretty fun."

"I mean, how was your entire day, before you went out," Acornpaw purred.

"Oh!" the she-cat meowed. "Well, I had no idea we were being made apprentices, so it was really surprising and exciting. I also really kind of like that Smallpaw and I have the same mentor. It's cool."

Just then, Maplepaw stuck her head out of the nursery and called to the Clan, "Two toms and a she-cat! Shortclaw has named them Nightkit, Dawnkit, and Flightkit."

Fawnpaw purred at the names. They were wonderful for kits, and she couldn't wait to meet them.

**AN: Yeah, I know it was pretty rushed, but I had no idea what to write! Here are the updated allegiances, chapter 7 will be waaaaaaaay lnger, promise. :) Love you all!**

**ShadowClan**

**Leader: Ravenstar **- black she-cat with a white chest (ground dasher)

_Apprentice, Lakepaw_

**Deputy: Stonedrift **- pale gray tom (tunnel runner)

**Medicine cat: Oakfall **- pale brown tabby tom

**Maplewhisker **- dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat

**All-Around Warriors:**

**Frostnose **- dark brown tabby tom

**Ground Dashers:**

**Tallwhisker **- tall black tom

_Apprentice, Riverpaw_

**Gingerwhisker **- ginger-and-white she-cat

**Mistpelt **- striped gray she-cat

**Mothdrift **- dark brown she-cat

_Apprentice, Pinepaw_

**Feathernose **- dark gray tom

_Apprentices, Fawnpaw and Smallpaw_

**Willowheart **- pale gray she-cat

_Apprentice, Mosspaw_

**Tunnel Runners:**

**Heatherwhisker **- pale brown tom

**Snowheart **- white she-cat

_Apprentice, Acornpaw_

**Crowflight** - black she-cat

**Wingshine **- pale brown tabby tom

_Apprentice, Copperpaw_

**Rockystep **- dark gray and black tom

**Apprentices: Lakepaw **- dark gray tabby she-cat, distinctive white speckled tail (ground dasher)

**Riverpaw **- pale gray tabby tom (ground dasher)

**Acornpaw **- reddish brown tom (tunnel runner)

**Fawnpaw **- small brown she-cat, large white paws (ground dasher)

**Pinepaw** - dark brown tabby tom (ground dasher)

**Smallpaw** - black-and-white she-cat (ground dasher)

**Mosspaw** - dark brown she-cat, large white patches (ground dasher)

**Copperpaw** - ginger-and-brown she-cat, white nose and tail-tip (tunnel runner)

**Queens: Shortclaw **- short black she-cat, mother of Dawnkit, Nightkit, and Flightkit

**Echoleap **- ebony-black she-cat, leafy green eyes, mother of Foxkit, Shykit, and Mothkit

**Kits: Dawnkit **- pinkish-white she-cat

**Nightkit **- black tom, patch of white behind neck

**Flightkit **- dark gray tom, amber eyes

**Foxkit **- ginger-and-cream tom

**Shykit **- pale gray she-cat

**Mothkit **- dark brown tabby tom

**Elders: Stumpyfoot **- dark gray tom, right front paw missing

**Burnwhisker **- black she-cat, whiskers singed off in a fire

* * *

**ThunderClan**

**Leader: Icestar** - white tom with blue eyes (ground dasher)

**Deputy: Owlnose **- dark brown tabby tom (tunnel runner)

_Apprentice, Dawnpaw _(pale gray she-cat)

**Medicine cat: Appleblossom **- golden she-cat, ginger ears and paws

_Apprentice, Nightpaw _(black-and-white she-cat)

**Ground Dashers:**

**Antlerfoot **- ginger tabby tom

**Runningfoot** - pale brown she-cat

**Toothgrowl **- black tom

_Apprentice, Duskpaw_(ginger tom)

**Queens: Birdwhisker **- ginger-and-cream she-cat, mother of Moonkit (tunnel runner)

**Shimmernose **- white she-cat, expecting Icestar's kits (tunnel runner)

**Kits: ****Moonkit **- silver tabby she-cat

* * *

**RiverClan**

**Leader: Rushstar **- brown tabby she-cat (ground dasher)

**Deputy: Ripplefern **- pale gray she-cat (tunnel runner)

_Apprentice, Bobtailpaw _(dark brown she-cat, creamy ears)

**Medicine cat: Wolfspeckle **- dark gray tom, white speckles

_Apprentice, Splashkit _(silver tabby she-cat)

**Ground Dashers:**

**Rainsong **- creamy-brown she-cat, brown eyes

**Mooseheart **- dark brown tom

_Apprentice, Pebblekit _(creamy-brown she-cat)

**Splashwhisker** - gray tom

**Tunnel Runners:**

**Growltail **- dark gray she-cat

**Berrystorm **- black-and-white she-cat

**Ryeheart **- dark brown tom, white speckles

**Cloudheart** - white she-cat, reddih patches

**Foxfrost** - ginger tom, white feet and tail-tip

**Queens: Splashfern **- pale gray tabby she-cat, mother of Ryekit, Cloudkit, and Ebonykit

**Kits: Ryekit **- dark brown-and-white tom

**Cloudkit** - pale gray tabby she-cat

**Ebonykit **- black she-cat

* * *

**WindClan**

**Leader: Swiftstar **- black-and-white tom (ground dasher)

_Apprentice, Tanglepaw_ (blonde she-cat, tangled fur)

**Deputy: Snakebite **- pale brown she-cat (tunnel runner)

_Apprentice, Featherpaw _(pale gray-and-white she-cat)

**Medicine cat: Crevicenose** - pale gray tabby tom

_Apprentice, Stormpaw _(white-and-cream tom)

**Ground Dashers:**

**Swiftstorm **- white-and-brown tom

_Apprentice,_ _Kestrelkit _(creamy tom)

**Honeyheart** - golden-brown she-cat

**Emberfoot **- cream-and-brown she-cat

**Tunnel Runners:**

**Rosefade **- creamy-red she-cat with green eyes

_Apprentice, Grasspaw _(dark gray tabby tom)

**Queens: Rabbitskip **- pale brown tabby she-cat, mother of Mousekit, Poppykit, and Blossomkit

**Kits: Mousekit **- dusky brown she-cat

**Poppykit **- brown tabby she-cat

**Blossomkit **- creamy-brown she-cat

**AN; If you have any ideas for Shimmernose's kits, tell me! Give me their name, eyes, fur, gender, rank, kits (if wanted) and mate (if wanted) and you can reccomend a mentor. I need names! Thanks!**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	9. Chapter 7

**AN: So this one is going to jump straight into some battle training. Smallpaw is sparring with Copperpaw, Fawnpaw (poor dear XD ) with Mosspaw. I might not be updating as much this week. I still have to finish reading Between Shades of Gray (soooooooooooooo not like 5o shades of gray at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall) and writing note on it for school. You should really read this book, it's amazing! My favorite. See 'yall at the end!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

"You leap into the air, twist, and come back down. That's right, Fawnpaw! Make sure you dig your hind claws into the ground so you can keep your opponent pinned. That way, you can get in a few good blows. Ooh, Copperpaw, try again. This time, Smallpaw, be fair and let her land on you. Once she's there, you can struggle all you want."

Feathernose was taking over battle practice today. He, Wingshine, and Willowheart had shown them the leap and hold, a simple battle move that didn't need that much concentration. Mosspaw had done the move wonderfully twice already, and this was Fawnpaw's second time. She landed perfectly on Mosspaw, her hind claws going into the ground automatically. She pushed her forepaws hard on Mosspaw's shoulders.

"Time!" Willowheart called. Copperpaw and Fawnpaw climbed off of their partners and sat to listen for the next move they would be learning. Feathernose nodded to Willowheart to continue. "Now, I will demonstrate a simple tail-signal," the pale gray she-cat announced. "Then, we will split up into teams with our mentors, and practice a false battle. I want each of the teams to use this tail-signal at least once. Understood?"

All the apprentices nodded. "This signal means stop," Willowheart continued. She held her tail up, erect. "You use this when you want your patrol to, well, stop."

Fawnpaw nodded excitedly. She looked at Feathernose, who was talking to Wingshine. Both toms beckoned their apprentices over. Copperpaw looked annoyed to be paired with the smaller she-cat, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Copperpaw, you will be working with Fawnpaw today," Wingshine meowed. "I need you two to work together well today, because the faster we get done here, the faster we can hunt. Shortclaw and her kits need feeding now, so let's go."

Feathernose padded over to Smallpaw, meowed something, then came back. He sat beside Wingshine and Willowheart and watched the partners go out. As soon as they were out of sight of their mentors, Copperpaw and Fawnpaw moved into a run. They had talked, and decided to wait for Mosspaw to approach the High Pine. It was the tallest pine tree in the forest, and one of Mosspaw's favorites. They guessed she'd come by here, bored with the excersise as she was with most.

They crouched in the roots of the High Pine, and waited. Soon, they heard a crunch and a snap. A black and white tail shot up. 'Stop'. Fawnpaw and Copperpaw crept around the High Pine quickly until Fawnpaw held her tail up. She did another tail-signal she had heard the ground dashers talking about. Bobbing her tail (enemy sighted), she glanced back at Copperpaw. The ginger, brown and white she-cat nodded, and Fawnpaw flattened her tail (get down). Both she-cats flattened themselves to the ground, and Mosspaw's confused meow could be heard.

"Smallpaw, come on!" she snapped. "Where did they go?"

"I-I don't know."

Copperpaw nodded suddenly, and both she-cat crouched. "Go," Copperpaw whispered, and they both leapt at the other apprentices in unison from days of battle practice. They were taken completely by surprise. Fawnpaw twisted in the air and landed on Smallpaw, digging her hind claws into the ground.

Copperpaw did the same, and the other team was pinned.

"Good job," Feathernose meowed, coming out of the bushes. "Fawnpaw and Copperpaw, how did you two know so many tail-signals?"

Fawnpaw shrugged. "I picked them up from the ground dashers earlier while Acornpaw and I were eating a mouse," she answered. "I figured it would be a good time to use them, since they were what we were practicing in the first place."

Willowheart nodded approvingly. "In StarClan's name, Feathernose, I wish I had an apprentice as eager to learn as yours," she laughed. "I can hardly get a word out before Mosspaw disappears somewhere."

The dark brown and white she-cat shrunk back in the bushes. Smallpaw, however, was sitting up, waiting for her praise. "You did great," some cat meowed behind them, coming out. It was Acornpaw with Snowheart. They had been doing a mock battle with Riverpaw and Lakepaw, and now they had come to watch the younger cats train.

"Nice use of those other tail-signals, too," he added, sittting next to Fawnpaw. "I didn't know if you'd understand them, Copperpaw. You're clearly the smartes bunch out of your siblings."

Fawnpaw purred, then remembered they had promised Maplepaw they'd be waiting to hear her new name this morning. "Feathernose!" she meowed. "Can we go and see what Maplepaw's new name is? We promised her we'd hear it when she got back."

"Of course."

The five apprentices ran into the trees toward camp, bumping into Crowflight's patrol. "Sorry!" Acornpaw called as we ran into camp and sat down quickly in the medicine den. Maplepaw poked her head out happily, surprised to see so many cats in the clearing without an injury in sight.

"My, my, what are you all doiing in here?" she asked happily. "Oh, that's right! It's Maplewhisker, by the way. Wonderful, I think. I'm just so happy about being a full medicine cat now. But, erm, I'm going to need you all to step out of here. Oakfall seems to have contracted something. Even Wolfspeckle didn't know what it was. He was the one to have to do my ceremony, since Oakfall collapsed on the way there."

Fawnpaw gasped. Was Oakfall dieing? But without asking, she turned around and left the den with her friends, still 100 % worried for Oakfall's health.

Riverpaw got two mice from the kill-pile and brought them over to her. "Want to share?" he asked. When Fawnpaw nodded, he sat down and added, "Maplewhisker's pretty worried about him, huh?"

The brown she-cat nodded, eating her mouse slowly. She never ate quickly, because eating slowly, for some reason, made her more, well, full. The other apprentices were eating outside the camp, because Stonedrift had sent just about all of them on a patrol after. So Fawnpaw and Riverpaw got to eat alone.

Fawnpaw was pretty happy about this. She had developed a small crush on Riverpaw, but he seemed not to care about her as more than a friend. After all, every cat knew he was padding after Smallpaw. He always followed her around everywhere, and whenever she talked to him, Riverpaw's eyes got all sparkly after. Fawnpaw sure hoped she didn't get that way after talking to him!

"How was training today?" she asked causually.

Riverpaw shrugged. "Boring!" he meowed in between bites. "All we did was a mock battle, and after that, Tallwisker had me practice tree-hopping. If anything, that's something Lakepaw needs to work on, not me. She just falls out of every tree she climbs, and then Ravenstar just acts like she nearly died. It's not fair!"

Fawnpaw flinched at his harsh tone. She knew Riverpaw was jeaous that his sister got Ravenstar as her mentor, but that didn't mean he couldn't be rational about it! The brown she-cat cautiously rested her tail across her crush's shoulders. When she heard a hiss from the bushes, both of them turned around to see a reddish brown head disappear back into a tunnel.

"Dumb tunnel runner," Riverpaw muttered. He turned back to Fawnpaw. "So, how was your day?"

Fawnpaw smiled excitedly. "Well, we learned the leap and hold," she meowed. "Super easy move, I know, but after, we practiced tail-signals. I got the rest of the day off with Copperpaw, since we both understood more than just the 'stop' signal. It was actually pretty fun. Feathernose is a really great mentor."

"And father," Riverpaw put in. "He helped yesterday with my Lightning Crouch. And he did it right in front of Tallwhisker! I've never seen a black warrior's face get so red before."

The brown apprentice laughed. She could almost imagine the look on Tallwisker's face when he had realized that his apprentice was being trained by his father!

"Riverpaw!" They looked up to see Tallwhisker, Feathernose, and Smallpaw waiting at the entrance. "Border patrol. Come on!"

The gray tabby nodded. "See you," he meowed to Fawnpaw, running to the patrol. Fawnpaw watched them leave, a feeling of annoyance toward Tallwhisker rising up inside her. Why did he have to call a patrol now? When she was having a meal with Riverpaw?

She walked outside of camp after burrying the mouse bones and went down by the Thunderpath to think. It was very loud here, and no cat could hear a thing. That was why Fawnpaw liked it. She could talk to herself, or dream in a tree, and she'd be all alone, by herself.

But today, much to Fawnpaw's dismay, the Thunderpath was empty except for a small patrol of ThunderClan warriors. She was sitting in a tree, watching them. Suddenly, one of the warriors, a ginger tabby, glanced around nervously and ran across the path; right onto ShadowClan territory!

His patrol soon followed. Fawnpaw knew she had to warn the Clan when she watched the ginger apprentice kill a frog. But the nearest patrol had to be miles away. She was all alone, in the middle of the forest, with a patrol of enemy warriors. Luckily, there was a small creak on the branch above her's.

Fawnpaw looked up and saw Smallpaw, Copperpaw, and Pinepaw balancing on the pine branch. Pinepaw swept his tail from side to side, and the patrol of apprentices spread out. _This is so much like Stumpyfoot's story! _Fawnpaw thought excitedly as she balanced on a low branch just above the ginger tabby's head. She glanced at Pinepaw, who nodded, and the apprentices all dropped down from the trees, one at a time, yowling.

Copperpaw grabbed the black tom's foot between her teeth. She yanked hard, and he lost his footing. Just as the tom turned to knock her away, Copperpaw disappeared into the bushes and ran to the other side.

When she came out again, she was covered in mud. Copperpaw attacked the ginger apprentice, and they fought screeching into the forest.

Fawnpaw used the leap and hold and was soon digging her claws into the ginger tabby's pelt. He shrieked in pain, struggling to get up. Fawnpaw made sure she gave him a few more blows before she let him flee.

Next, she turned to the pale brown she-cat that was fighting Smallpaw. The apprentice was limping. Her back left leg didn't seem to be cooperating.

"I'll teach you little piece of scum to stop a ThunderClan warrior!" the ThunderClan cat spat, raking Smallpaw's face with her claws.

"Stay away from my Smallpaw!"

A shriek came from the edge of the clearing as Tallwhisker's patrol burst in. Riverpaw attacked the she-cat, showing no mercy. He raked her belly with his claws until the black tom called retreat.

Feathernose then stepped forward. "Not so fast," he growled. "Runningfoot and Toothpaw, so nice of you to finally show your faces. After that last Gathering, I thought you two had learned your lessons."

The black tom, Toothpaw, spat at Feathernose. "It's Toothgrowl to you, kittypet!" he snarled.

Feathernose merely rolled his eyes. "I don't care what your names are," he hissed angrily. "Get out, or face our wrath." He kinkied his tail over his back and Stonedrift, all the apprentices, Rockystep, and Willowheart stepped out.

Toothgrowl and Runningfoot exchanged glances, then darted across the Thunderpath. The ginger apprentice ran after them, his tail between his legs. Toothgrowl spat something at the apprentice, who shrunk away, embarassed. Fawnpaw watched the Thunderclan cats leave.

* * *

That night, Ravenstar called a Clan meeting. Fawnpaw sat next to Riverpaw; they were both anxious to see if Smallpaw would get better. They were sitting beside the medicine den entrance, where Smallpaw could see out into the clearing. But the black and white she-cat was asleep, so they turned their attention back to Ravenstar.

She was waiting for Echoleap and Shortclaw, who quickly appeared. Shykit, Mothkit and Foxkit tagged along too, sitting beside their mother.

"I called this meeting to talk about ThunderClan," Ravenstar meowed once the Clan had settled down. "Today, they hunted on our territory, caught and defeated by four apprentices, and finished off by a patrol of our warriors. But we will not tolerate Icestar sending anymore warriors onto our land. We will bring it up tomorrow night at the Gathering. Later, if it does not stop, we will attack, and when we do, ShaowClan will show no mercy! I will pick the cats for the Gathering now. Stonedrift, of course, Riverpaw, Lakepaw, Acornpaw, Pinepaw, Copperpaw, Rockystep, Wingshine, Willowheart, Snowheart, Feathernose, Maplewhisker, obviously, and any elder that wishes to come along. Oh! And Fawnpaw. Clan dismissed."

Riverpaw jumped excitedly. "Aw yeah!" he cried. "Your first Gathering! I'll get to show you around everywhere."

Fawnpaw nodded, twice as excited. But she was still worried about Oakfall and Smallpaw. So she padded into the medicine with Riverpaw and found Maplewhisker sitting next to Oakfall. They got a feeling they weren't meant to be there, so Riverpaw and Fawnpaw ducked underneath a bush to listen.

"She will never be healed."

"We have to try! Have you given up like Quiettongue?"

"Maplewhisker, I've given up on myself. And StarClan left her destiny in my paws to care for. She must."

"No!"

Riverpaw gulped. "Is Fawnpaw going to... die?"

* * *

**AN: Cliffhanger! Well, somecat has to tell me why my sister is being stupid here is what she just said... Eat the poo can you eat the poo? poop poop poop poop boob. No kidding. Seriously. Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Lithuanian Monday.  
**

**~GreeceXCats527**

**She said Tobuscus to google, it can out at ***k yes. And aparently, Toby's middle name is Joe. What!?  
**


	10. Chapter 8

**AN: So! I really want to go to iHop right now. Oh, and here are a few odd but awesome stuff to eat: pretzels... in Trix yogurt! Hashbrowns... drowned in strawberry syrup! If anybody knows anymore, tellmetellmetellme! Thanks, see you guys at the end.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Fawnpaw finished grooming her brown fur after the Clan meeting the next day. Oakfall had decided to retire, and was now in the medicine den. Smallpaw was expected to not heal entirely ever, and she would never fight or hunt with the same fire in her eyes as she used to. Riverpaw and Fawnpaw had mourned for the she-cat, because she might never fight alongside them again.

The sun was setting on the ShadowClan camp. It turned some of the cats shades of purple and orange and pink. Normally, Fawnpaw would watch the sun set from her Thunderpath spot. But not tonight. Ravenstar was waiting at the camp entrance. They were leaving for the Gathering now.

Fawnpaw scampered over beside Acornpaw. "Acornpaw!" Fawnpaw meowed a little excitedly. The reddish brown tom shrank down shyly. This confused his friend, since she'd never seen him do that before. "So, what do they normally talk about at Gatherings?" she tried again when they set off.

"Lots of stuff," Riverpaw swooped in as Acornpaw opened his mouth to speak. "Sometimes, they talk about battles. I like to listen to the deputies. Owlnose and Ripplefern - ThunderClan and RiverClan - always get into a huge argument. It's really funny."

The brown she-cat giggled. "It sounds amazing," she laughed, following Riverpaw to the front of the group. She glanced back to see Acornpaw pulling his lips back angrily. The reddish brown tom shook his head when he caught Fawnpaw staring and stared at the ground.

"What's up with him?" She asked the gray tabby when they were out of Acornpaw's earshot.

Riverpaw shrugged. "'Dunno," he meowed. "He always seems to be somewhere else these days. Hey, look! That's the Thunderpath we go under to get to..." The gray tabby tom trailed off as Lakepaw called excitedly, "Fourtrees!"

"Come on!" Riverpaw sped up to stand closer to the front, and Fawnpaw followed. They ducked under the Thunderpath tunnel and four beautiful trees came into view, a large rock stuck in the middle. Two leaders were already there. The large white tom shot a glare at the ShadowClan cats, his eyes like two blue chips of ice.

When Ravenstar jumped onto the rock, she snarled something at him and sat down. The other leader was a brown tabby she-cat who seemed to give Ravenstar a more welcoming greeting. She seemed not to mind when the black she-cat gave her a snapping reply.

Stonedrift padded underneath the big rock to speak with the other two cats that were sitting there. One was a dark brown tabby, and the other was pale gray. They greeted Stonedrift with a flick of their tails. Fawnpaw guessed they were the deputies of the other two Clan that were there at the moment. She noticed Maplewhisker sitting with two large cats and two small ones below the rock as well. The first was a dark gray cat with white speckles, and the smaller one next to him was a silver tabby. The other large cat was golden with ginger ears and paws, and the she-cat next to her was black and white.

Fawnpaw turned to ask Riverpaw a question. "Are those the other medicine cats?" she asked, waving her tail toward the cats Maplewhisker was sitting with. Riverpaw nodded happily. "That's Wolfspeckle and Appleblossom," was his reply. "The small cats must be their new apprentices. Silverpaw and Nightpaw, I think. They were announced at the Gathering last moon, but I might have gotten their names wrong. I don't tend to talk to the medicine cats all that much."

The gray tom pulled Fawnpaw toward a small group of apprentices gathered around one ginger tom. He seemed to be telling them about a battle. Suddenly, Riverpaw bristled.

"It's that cat from the patrol that was prey-stealing!" he hissed. "Duskpaw!" He said the tom's name a bit loudly, and the ginger cat stopped talking and turned to him.

Duskpaw waved his tail happily. "Hey, Riverpaw!" he meowed. "How's the prey running? Sorry about what happened earlier. Toothgrowl's not the best mentor, and he always breaks the warrior code. I wish I had Runningfoot instead. She's much better."

"Hey!" Fawnpaw put in. "You were the one that attacked Copperpaw!"

Duskpaw rolled his eyes. "More like she fell on me like a squirrel in the trees," he growled. "Besides, I was just doing what my mentor told me to do. Wouldn't you? All those battles are put behind for peace at these Gatherings. You're new, right?"

Now it was Fawnpaw's turn to roll her eyes. "Look, Duskpaw, whoever you are," she snapped. "Just stay away from my sister, okay?"

Just then, a tall black and white tom pelted down the slope into the hollow, cats running after him quickly. WindClan! The Gathering would begin any heartbeat now. Fawnpaw settled in close to Riverpaw and pricked her ears to listen.

The white tom spoke first. Before the Gathering, Riverpaw had told her the names of each leader. This was Icestar. He introduce his new apprentices and warriors, and the Clan cats cheered for them. Icestar also reported the border squeamish, saying it was no more than, 'a little misunderstanding'. Any cat in ShadowClan knew that it had been anything but.

Then Ravenstar spoke. When she announced the new apprentices, Fawnpaw lifted her chin up. The Clans cheered her name, but she noticed that cats like Duskpaw, Toothgrowl, and Runningfoot remained silent. It seemed not everycat put battles behind them at Gatherings. Then Ravenstar reported that her Clan had good hunting in the past moon and that with five new apprentice, ShadowClan were as strong as ever.

Rushstar, Riverclan's leader, reported a new little of kits being born to a young queen called Splashheart, and the father was Ryeheart. She told them about three new warriors, Splashwhisker, Cloudheart, and Foxfrost. Then, WindClan's leader, Swiftstar, spoke last. He told them about a fox they had chased from his territory, that WindClan had good hunting, and had recovered after an attack from ThunderClan prey-stealing.

After that, Ravenstar left the Great Rock and led her Clan home.

* * *

**AN: Wow. This chapter was so... boring. I've had writer block. noooooooooooooo! I feel super sick when I get this. OCs OCs OCs! Please send them! Shimmernose needs babies. And I'm willing to have ShadowClan find a kit or two lying around somewhere if you give me their warrior name... heh heh heh... I've been reading too much Minecraft fics... See you all tomorrow! I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Canadian Tuesday, eh?**

**~GreeceXCats527**

**PS: This chapter is all up thanks to Bloodclaw of ThunderClan. They remind me of Bubblepaw1... my top reviewer back when I was Mosslight of ShadowClan... good times, good times...**


	11. Chapter 9

**AN: I would have made chapter 8 longer, but it kept deleting itself! Here is chapter 9, then I have to go and update The End. See you all at the end! (oh, god, XD)**

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**Chapter 9**

Fawnpaw lay next to Smallpaw as her sister drifted off to sleep. She had just told her all about the Gathering and what had happened there. But the sun was rising slowly, and Fawnpaw wanted to get some rest before hunting with Feathernose, so she crept back into the apprentices den, unnoticed by everycat except Acornpaw.

"Where were you?" the reddish brown tom hissed quietly. "Riverpaw was worried."

Fawnpaw rolled her eyes, kind of happy that the cat she liked was worried about her. "Just visiting Smallpaw," she whispered, settling down in her nest beside the gray tom. "She was bored. And besides, Maplewhisker said it'd be okay to give her some company. If cats get stuck in their nest all day, they get antsy, she says. So I visisted Smallpaw. I told her about the Gathering. She just fell asleep. That's why I am back to the den so late tonight. Now, go back to sleep. I have hunting today, and I'm really, really tired."

In the morning, Smallpaw was able to walk, so she limped over to the apprentices' den. "Fawnpaw!" she called, whipping around to see Fawnpaw outside the den. "Oh. Feathernose has a terrible cold, and Maplewhisker doesn't want you contracting it as well. Plus, Shortclaw needs somecat to watch her kits. Maplewhisker nominated you. Shortclaw'll be leaving soon."

Fawnpaw sighed. She didn't want to watch kits! She wanted to train. But she didn't protest, instead walking over to the nursery and greeting the two queens through the entrance.

Echleap was going outside to play with Foxkit, Shykit, ad Mothkit. The black queen had grown to trust the Clan almost completely. She still had doubts about Stonedrift, though. Fawnpaw settled down in Echoleap's nest and watched Shortclaw prepare to leave. "I'm going hunting!" she called to her kits. "Miss Fawnpaw is going to be watching you, so I want you all to be on your best behaviors! Fawnpaw, dear, just tell me if they give you any trouble. I'll take care of it as soon as I get back."

The kits scampered around their mother. "Mommy, don't go!" Nightkit squeaked.

Shortclaw purred as she licked her kit between the ears. The short black she-cat nuzzled each of her kits in turn before turning and exiting the den.

Fawnpaw glanced at Dawnkit, who was still sleeping in her mother's nest. She decided to curl up around the pinkish white she-kit. But just as she was getting herself settled in, Flightkit attacked her twitching tail, waking Dawnkit up. "You foxheart!" Dawnkit squeaked, leaping at her brother. "You no-good dirty-rotten foxheart!" The two kits tussled on the floor, claws out and everything, until Fawnpaw gripped Flightkit's scruff firmly between her teeth and pulled him off of his sister.

"All of you, sit down and be quiet!" Fawnpaw snapped. All three kits looked up in horror as Fawnpaw bared her teeth at them. They sat together in a straight line, staring up at her, terrified.

Nightkit looked like her might wet the bedding right there. "Please don't eat us, miss apprentice," he cried.

That gave Fawnpaw an idea. She shoved her face into Nightkit's and let out a mock growl. "And why shouldn't I eat you?" she growled. "You're all very naughty kits. You attack eachother, and you'll eventually kill each other before you're even three moons old. So why shouldn't I eat you? It'll speed up the process very much."

The black tom shrank away from Fawnpaw. He was shaking. It was obvious that he believed her, and was trying to save them from being eaten by the mean apprentice. "We'll be good kits!" he cried. "I promise. And we'll help you search the elders for ticks, and, and, and... we'll clean out the apprentices den!"

"No we won't!" Flightkit and Dawnkit argued in unison.

Nightkit rolled his eyes at them. Fawnpaw was amazed how beautifully green they were. Exact replicas of her's. "Well, I will," he promised. "Just don't eat us."

Fawnpaw lifted her head away from Nightkit. But she decided not to be finished yet. "I won't eat you," she purred. "I'll eat _them._" The brown apprentice flicked her tail at the other two kits, who were now huddling together, still in their line. "They are rude, and rambuncious. And Echoleap often complains that they wake her up in the morning. They wake me up, too, and never say they're sorry. Ever. So I won't eat you, Nightkit. I'll eat Dawnkit and Flightkit."

She finished, sitting back on her haunches and licking her other two kits stared up at her in horror. "We're sorry!" they cried in unison again. "We won't be rude or, uh, rutabega again," Dawnkit promised.

"And we'll be quiet in the morning so Echoleap and you can sleep," Flightkit whispered. He was clearly still scared that Fawnpaw was going to eat them.

She licked a large white forepaw and thought hard about this. "Fine," she meowed at last. "I won't eat you. But maybe I'll eat _Echoleap's _kits," she finished, turning around just as Foxkit came back inside.

With a squeal of terror, he ran to go and tell his mother that Fawnpaw, the big scary apprentice, was going to eat him. Shortclaw's kits purred wit amusement, and Fawnpaw watched them play-fight. She wasn't very interested in doing this herself, especially at her age. But it was still fun to watch the kits play with eachother. They showed promise at becoming great warriors someday.

Dawnkit surprised Fawnpaw when she went up to her. "Um, Fawnpaw?" ahs asked quietly. "Can you show us thhe Lightning Crouch? We want to learn how to catch mice."

The other two kits looked up from their mock battle and nodded excitedly. Fawnpaw nodded as well, and started. "First off," she began, "the Lightning Crouch is used for catching frogs. So, all of you, crouch. Dawnkit, that's lying down. There, put your bottom into the air more. Good. Flightkit, stop shuffling your paws. The prey will be able to hear you from mailes away. Nightkit, keep your tail still. Good. Now all of you, bring all your weight back into your haunches, er, your hind legs. Now. These three balls of moss are frogs. Each of you gets the one in front of you. When I say three, jump. One. Three!"

All three kits leapt at the mossballs. Nightkit successfully landed on his and bit into it like it were a real frog. Flightkit overshot a little and bumped into the wall. And Dawnkit barely got an inch off the ground before she fell on her own paws. Sitting up, she rubbed her nose with a pinkish white paw. "I'll never be a tunnel runner at this rate."

Fawnpaw licked the kit on the cheek. She remembered what it felt like to think you were useless at everything. It wasn't fun. Mosspaw would always tease her for being tiny, and it made her believe that she couldn't do anything. Yet it was still hilarious everytime she remembered back to thhe day when they became apprentices. When Mosspaw saw that her sister was becoming a ground dasher instead of a tunnel runner, her face was priceless! "You just need practice," Fawnpaw reassured the kit. "Look, see? Your back legs were twisted inward, so you tripped instead of jumping. Keep them straight out, like this." Fawnpaw demonstrated how Dawnkit's legs should have been. "That way, when you jump, you have power in the leap. Did you see how Flightkit overshot? Well, her had too much power. You have to judge how far away your prey is from you. Then, when you jump, only use the power you need to land on the prey. I had trouble at first, too, but Feathernose helped me perfect my Lightning Crouch, and now he says I'm an amazing hunter!"

Dawnkit purred and crouched to try again. Fawnpaw placed the mossball, and the she-kit made sure her legs were straight. She prepared to leap, waggling her hindquarters, then jumped, landing squarely on her prey. "I did it!" she squealed, and Fawnpaw whiisked all the moss away except for Nightkit's.

"Yeah, but you didn't kill the prey," Flightkit pointed out angrily. "And you made so much noise all the rest of the prey got scared away." The dark gray tom sat back with a huff, his amber eyes reflecting anger.

Fawnpaw sighed when she realized that these siblings would always find something to argue about. "But outside there is much more prey," she reminded them. "Like, I don't know, Burnwhisker and Stumpyfoot?"

The kits cried out excitedly and followed the brown apprentice outside. She nodded to Echoleap, who was grooming a terrified Foxkit. "Thank you for shutting him up!" the black queen meowed happily to her. "He really was annoying us all."

Fawnpaw purred as she led the kits to the edge of the elders' den. They knew what to do. Dawnkit and Flightkit targeted Stumpyfoot together, since her was bigger. Nightkit went after Burnwhisker. All three kits crouched, eyes on their prey. Dawnkit's legs were straight, just like Fawnpaw had shown her. She watched as they gathered their weight back into the haunches and pounced through the entrance, landing on the elders. Burnwhisker let out a yoowl of surprise as Nightkit pummeled her stomach with tiny paws. Luckily, his claws were sheathed.

Stumpyfoot had been sleeping, and when the other two kits landed on him, he had woken up. "That's not my penguin!" he cried, jumping up. The two kits fell off of him, squealing in delight that they had managed to surprise him so much.

"Erm, Stumpyfoot, what's a penguin?" Nightkit asked as he hopped off of Burnwhisker. The old black queen sat up with a humph and started licking her paw.

Stumpyfoot tilted his head to the side, utterly confused. "I don't right know, young'un," he responded truthfully. "All I know is that you three woke me up with all your jibber-jabbing. Fawnpaw, keep these kits of your under con-" The dark gray tom broke off as a bought of coughing erupted from his throat. The kits leapt back, squealing in surprise. Fawnpaw just stared at Stumpyfoot in horror. Was the kind old tom sick?

"Go get Maplewhisker," she whispered as Shortclaw poked her head in, back from hunting. The short queen looked confused, but didn't ask, merely left the elders' den and returned shortly after with Maplewhisker. The brown tortoiseshell she-cat entered, carrying some herbs.

She dipped her head to the elders. Stumpyfoot was still coughing. "I'll see what I can do," she murmured to Fawnpaw.

The apprentice, queen, and three kits left the den and waited for the verdict.

Soon, the sun began to set. Maplewhisker left the den finally, her fur ruffled from dealing with Stumpyfoot' cough. She pulled Fawnpaw away from the rest of the group. Both she-cats sat down across from eachother. Maplewhisker's eyes were tired amber pools of sadness. She looked into Fawnpaw's worried leafy-green eyes and began to speak.

"I know you two were close as friends," Maplewhisker whispered unhappily. "And I don't think the kits can handle this, nor Shortclaw. The birth was hard on her, and she is still recovering." The tortoiseshell medicine cat let out a long, sad sigh before continuing. "Stumpyfoot had greencough," she meowed finally. "He's had it for a long time, and never told anybody. The sickness has seemed to already be in effect, reaching its highest peak. Stumpyfoot may die."

Fawnpaw stared at the medicine cat in horror. "But, you're going to save him, won't you?"

Maplewhisker stared a her paws. She may have been a medicine cat, but she was still young and grieving over the loss of her mentor. "I'll see what I can do. But StarClan already seem to be calling to him."

Turning around, Fawnpaw sprinted away from camp, sobs jerking her chest. Stumpyfoot was going to die. He was going to die, and it was all her fault. Stumpyfoot had been coughing for the past moon. She hadn't thought to tell Maplewhisker. And now he was going to die.

"Fawnpaw!" Maplewhisker called. "Fawnpaw, I am so sorry."

**AN; I'm so sorry, too! I know you guys love Stumpyfoot. I do to. But I was listening to my step-brother watching Battlestar Galactica, and there was sad music playing while I wrote this chapter. You'll have to forgive me. Bloodclaw, I hope you liked the part where the kits think Fawnpaw is going to eat them. I thought it'd be funny. :) Alright, well, you all know why Fawnpaw blames herself for Stumpyfoot's death. I'm going to give her a bit of a change in chapter 11. Like, maybe finally give her her destiny. But, eh, I hope you guys enjoyed. Shimmernose is having Icestar's kits, so I need OCs! Please send them in, and I will thankfully use them. Why did I write chapter 11? This story is being discontinued after chapter 10. Sorry, I've had severe writer's block here. Well, I'll see you all in the last chapter. Baaiiiii!**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	12. Chapter 10

**AN; Trololololololololol! I love trolling you guys. :) This story is soooooooooooooo not discontinued. Yeah. You totally believed me, didn't you? Well, so, yeah. Stumpyfoot might die. And I'm thinking, after this, of writing a series about, maybe, Gingerwhisker or Ravenstar or Icestar or Stonedrift. I'll put up a poll. Yeah. You guys get to vote! It'll be on my profile when we reach chapter 15. I'm so happy! 368 views? I'm super excited about reaching 500. We're only on chapter 10 here, and I've gotten so many views, yet only, like, 10 ****_re_****views. Ah, well. Whatever. So, Yeah. Darn it! This chapter might be sad. Again. Sad BSG music. Gah! I so have to finish Caprica. Okay, here you guys go. Chapter 10! Oh, yeah, and you're in for a surprise about Smallpaw. Wow. Doctor Who theme is now stuck in my head. Don't know why, I haven't watched it in months...**

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**Chapter 10**

Fawnpaw sat beside her mother outside Ravenstar's den as Maplewhisker told the Clan leader of Stumpyfoot's condition. The dark gray elder was sitting in the clearing, slowly dieing no matter what tricks Maplewhisker tried. Even Mosspaw, a cat that didn't care much about the elders, was upset. That morning, when she heard about Stumpyfoot, she had refused to go training with Willowheart. The gray she-cat had nodded, understanding, and gone off to patrol with Mistpelt and Feathernose, who had only recently recovered from his cold.

Now the patrol had returned, and Ravenstar was climbing the Long Branch to tell the Clan about Stumpyfoot. Gingerwhisker was sitting next to her dieing father, stroking his side warmly with her ginger and white tail. As the light from the setting sun cast its warmth onto her mother, Fawnpaw realized that her mother was extremely beautiful. Her long fur was regal and bold looking. The only sign that she had ever been in a battle was a small nick in her left ear.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Long Branch for a Clan meeting!" Ravenstar called, but there was no need. The Clan was already gathered below, talking unhappily about Stumpyfoot's fate.

ShadowClan gazed up at their black leader, whose eyes were full of grief and sadness. Stumpyfoot had been her son, and Quiettongue her daughter. Now both of her children were gone. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Cats of ShadowClan!" the ShadowClan leader began. "Stumpyfoot has come down with greencough, a fact you all already know. He has had it for almost a moon now, and had he gone to Maplewhisker sooner, he may still be with us. But he is now already on his way to Star-" She was cut off as Gingerwhisker called something from beside the dieing elder.

"He is dead."

Ravenstar dipped her head as she took in the entire situation. Stumpyfoot was dead. Her son. Her only child left. Dead, like Quiettongue. "Very well," the she-cat meowed. "Stumpyfoot, we send you on your way to StarClan. I hope you find peace. May you run with you sister, Quiettongue, once again. And may you share tongue with you father, Wolfleaf, once more. May you find good hunting, swift running, and shelter where you sleep."

The Clan was silent, until Ravenstar waved her tail, and the cats slowly moved over to Stumpyfoot to send him on his way. When it was Fawnpaw's turn to share tongues with him, she groomed his ears, where he enjoyed it. "Oh, Stumpyfoot," she whispered. "You were my closest friend as a kit. I didn't even realize it. I'm sorry. I will see you when I go to the Moonstone."

The brown she-cat touched noses with her grandfather before stepping back. She had gone last, and now Ravenstar could continue the meeting. The black ShadowClan leader let out a sigh before finishing.

"Maplewhisker tells me that Smallpaw no longer wishes to be a ground dasher apprentice," she meowed. The Clan gasped. She was becoming a tunnel runner? "She does not wish to inflict pain upon cats any longer, as she has felt what it can do to a cat. Smallpaw, come forward."

The Clan turned to see the black and white apprentice limping out of the medicine den. She looked up at Ravenstar, her eyes proud, and her fur kempt and groomed.

"Smallpaw, is it your wish to become a medicine cat apprentice?" Ravenstar asked.

Smallpaw nodded excitedly. "It is," she meowed.

Ravenstar nodded, then turned to look at Maplewhisker. "Maplewhisker, train Smallpaw well, as Oakfall trained you. Let us hope that someday, she may become as good a medicine cat as you."

Fawnpaw watched as her sister touched noses with the medicine cat, and the Clan cheered her name. Riverpaw, however, remained silent from his spot next to Fawnpaw. His tail quivered angrily, and as soon as the meeting was over, the gray tabby tom stormed off to the apprentices' den.

Fawnpaw ran after him, hoping to comfort the gray tom. "Riverpaw, I didn't know," she meowed. Fawnpaw settled down next to him in his nest. "I would have told you. She, should have told us. I'm angry too."

But Riverpaw merely closed his eyes with a sigh and drifted off to sleep, leaving Fawnpaw alone in the darkness of the den.

Gingerwhisker poked her head in, her green eyes sad. "Come," she mewed to her daughter, who stood up on shaky legs and followed her out of camp.

Outside, the cool newleaf air made Fawnpaw's nose tickle. It blew through her fur, whispering things she did not yet understand. Yet she understood them, in a way. The brown she-cat sat beside her mother in the tree by the Thunderpath. Gingerwhisker's tail waved back and forth, dangling out of the tree.

"I know you come here," she meowed at last, after a long, sorrowful silence. "I came here, too. After Wolfleaf left us. I was angry. He'd gone down in a battle under the tunnels, but somehow that didn't coomfort us at all. Wolfleaf, my grandfather, had only wanted to become an elder and watch his kits' kits grow old. But he died, when I was only an apprentice."

Fawnpaw nuzzled in closer to her mother, thinking about what had happened that day. She wasn't quite sure about how she felt about Smallpaw yet, but one things was sure; Fawnpaw wanted to become a tunnel runner.

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**AN; I know the summary says a tunnel accident occures, but she was thinking about Wolfleaf's accident. Also, yes. Smallpaw is a medicine apprentice. Okay, here are the choices for the series poll, I might add more before or during chapter 15.**

**Gingerwhisker**

**Ravenstar**

**Stonedrift**

**Stumpyfoot**

**Quiettongue**

**Icestar**

**Wolfleaf**

**If you guys have any suggestions on who it should be on, please, let me know. I love hearing your input on things! Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Aussie Sunday!**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	13. Chapter 11

**AN; Well, I wasn't exactly planning on updating again today. And this chapter's mood might swing around a bit. I'm listening to an Imagine Dragons Pandora station, and my writing is sort of based off the mood of the music. I guess I sort of explained that already when you read that sad chapter with Stumpyfoot. Yeah... blame Battlestar Galactica's sad music with that one. Here is chapter 11. If you remember from earlier, you might already know what happens here. So, see 'yall at the end! Yahoo! Safe and Sound by Capital Cities is awesome. Listen to it. :) I'll let you know when a song changes so you know why mood might swing a bit.**

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**Chapter 11**

Fawnpaw paced the clearing as she waited for Ravenstar to exit. She knew that the black she-cat was likely to run down the apprentice's request. After all, Feathernose had already lost Smallpaw. Was it really right to let him lose his other apprentice as well? Besides, if she did gett her wish, Fawnpaw's mentor was likely to be Heatherwhisker, and the pale brown tom was thinking about retiring to the elders' den soon. She didn't want to disrupt his last few moons as a warrior by being his rambunctious apprentice. (Talk You Down, The Script)

She had told Gingerwhisker and Stonedrift, and of course her mother was heartbroken. The ginger and white she-cat had always dreamed of her daughter becoming a ground dasher like her, but Fawnpaw knew Stonedrift was proud. He had alwas wanted more cats to follow in his pawsteps. It had been a while since a ShadowClan tunnel runner had been leader, or deputy, even.

But Stonedrift was practically leader already. Everycat in the Clan knew Ravenstar was weakening, becoming older and older every day. Especially after the deaths of her two children, Quiettongue and Stumpyfoot, she must have been utterly horrified. Yet she seemed somewhat calmer after their deaths.

Fawnpaw looked up from her pacing. She had been staring at the ground, and now Riverpaw had entered the camp after a short walk to reflect on things. (Home, Phillip Phillips. Aww, yeah!) The gray tabby tom had been avoiding her for the past three days. He seemed upset about Smallpaw's decision to change. She hoped her changing of ranks might cheer him up, but it was doubtful.

Riverpaw had never been Fawnpaw's best friend, as he had almost been back in the nursery. He was always ignoring her when she talked to him. Fawnpaw was beginning to believe it was a hopeless love. Riverpaw was usually calm, but when he was angry, his anger swelled to his edges and seemed to spill out, filling the whole Clan. The gray tabby tom seemed to be living up to his name.

Surprisingly, he gave Fawnpaw a greeting nod before padding into the apprentices' den. (White Blank Page, Mumford and Sons) Acornpaw emerged, but her was shoved aside as his sad brother was going the other way. The reddish brown tom glanced sheepishly at Fawnpaw as he padded by, but when she didn't return the glance, he let his tail droop and drag unhappily on the ground. Fawnpaw wondered what was up with him. Was he okay? Please, StarClan let him not have a crush on Smallpaw as well!

But that idea didn't seem right. Acornpaw had never shown any interest in Fawnpaw's black and white sister. Now that she thought about it, Acornpaw didn't seem to talk to Copperpaw and Mosspaw that much either. He avoided her a lot, though. _Does he hate me? Did I do something wrong? _Of course these thoughts crossed young Fawnpaw's mind. But she couldn't think of anything she had done to make him angry at her. (Boston, Augustana) (OMG, this song is so perfect for an Acornpaw or Riverpaw POV right now! Too bad this is about Fawnpaw... :( )

Finally, Ravenstar emerged from her den beneath the roots of the tree that the Long Branch stuck out of. She was watching Fawnpaw, her gaze seemingly intent. The elderly leader had always been extremely interested in the youngest apprentices, but not so much as to really care about their personal lives. When the black she-cat gave Fawnpaw a nod, the brown apprentice jumped up excitedly. Was it now? Was she becoming a tunnel runner's apprentice? Her questions were answered as Ravenstar climbed slowly up to the Long Branch. She stumbled at one part, but quickly steadied herself.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Long Branch for a Clan meeting!" she called, her voice quieter and weake sounding than usual. It shook with old age.

The Clan seemed slow as they emerged from their dens. Most of them were still recovering from the shock of Stumpyfoot's death, and even the kits, usually jumpy and excited, were slow and tired. Fawnpaw took her seat beside Riverpaw. Maybe it really _was_ his sadness that was making the Clan like this. At least her had decided to show up at the meeting. Only Fawnpaw and Ravenstar, however, knew what was going on.

"Feathernose, I know you have just lost Smallpaw as your apprentice," Ravenstar began, her voice cracking as she spoke. (Look After You, The Fray. Wow. All these songs are seemingly... sad. huh.) "This meeting will be hard for you, as it involves Fawnpaw's decided destiny. She has chosen to stop her training as a ground dasher so that she may become a tunnel runner. Now, the decision for Fawnpaw's mentor took some thinking, and there was only one good choice. Heathernose, you are old. You say you will retire soon, so Fawnpaw will not be your apprentice. I hope your last moons as a warrior are lived in peace. Crowflight. You are too young. And you say you do not want an apprentice. Rockfall, you just became a warrior," she added as the dark gray and black tom opened his mouth to speak. "You're out of the question. I suppose my only choice is Stonedrift. May you pass on all your wonderful skills and qualities to young Fawnpaw."

Fawnpaw stared in surprise as her father stood up. He gave a small nod to the ShadowClan leader, bending down and touching noses with his daughter. Fawnpaw saw him give Gingerwhisker a slight smile, and her mother let out a purr as the Clan shouted her name. "Fawnpaw! Fawnpaw!"

The brown apprentice sat back down and looked up at her Clan leader, waiting to see if there were anymore announcements. "Also," she meowed. "Lakepaw, Acornpaw, and Riverpaw have reached the half-way mark in their training. Tomorrow I will assess their hunting and tracking skills, and Acornpaw will show me through a few of the tunnels that run through our territories. Snowheart and Tallwhisker, please prepare your apprentices for the assessment."

She flicked her white-tipped tail, and the Clan was dissmissed. Acornpaw was the first to speak to Fawnpaw, who was absolutely excited about beginning her tunnel runner training later that day or tomorrow. "Yes!" Acornpaw exclaimed as he approached her. "Now we can train together! You'll love the tunnels. Snowheart says that some of them were dug by the WindClan tunnelers back in the time of the Great Leaders." (Dirty Paws, Of Monsters and Men)

Fawnpaw nodded, listening intently. She was amazed that tunnels from the time of the Great Leaders were still standing. Usually tunnels collapsed after a pawful of seasons went by and their walls and floors wore away. The cats that had dug them clearly had taken care of those tunnels if they were still there.

"Well, I'm not surprised you two would start talking about the tunnels right away," Stonedrift purred as he approached. "Sorry, Acornpaw, but I'm going to have to take her off your paws now. We've got to see some of those tunnels, eh? But hey, Snowheart isn't training you today. You can tag along, if you'd like to. We won't mind, would we, Fawnpaw?"

The brown she-cat shook her head and followed the more experiences tunnel runners out of the camp. Stonedrift took her to where a small opening in the ground was in view. "Good thing us tunnel runners are so small, eh?" he meowed, looking back and winking at his daughter. Fawnpaw shrunk away in embarassment before ducking into the tunnel after her mentor and friend. They both clearly knew where they were going. (Run For Your Life, The Fray. Wow. They're pretty popular, huh?)

Inside, the tunnels were extremely dark. Fawnpaw asked her father to wait as she widened her eyes, taking in any light there was. Pretty soon, the tunnels began to lighten up a bit, and she followed the toms down the long tunnel. Fawnpaw felt the ground slope down beneath the large white paws, which would soon become permanently stained with dirt and mud and other dirty substances.

The tunnel soon opened up into a large room. "This is the main-frame of ShadowClan," Stonedrift explained as Fawnpaw came, blinking, into the brighter area. "Us tunnel runners keep a store of prey down here, and we use it to get to any other tunnels that run through our territory. That tunnel," he added, pointing at a tunnel that sloped slightly upward, "leads back into the ShadowClan camp. It's the one we'll be using tomorrow. And down that way," he continued, nodding to the tunnel Acornpaw was sitting beside, "goes underneath ThunderClan territory to a place they call the Sunningrocks. Stupid ThunderClanners. And RiverClanners, for that matter. Why they continue to fight over those useless rocks, I'll never know. We should be heading back. Your ceremony was quite late, and it'll be getting dark soon." (Kids, MGMT)

Acornpaw and Fawnpaw nodded in agreement, and they followed the gray deputy back down the tunnel from where they had come. Now that she knew how dark the tunnels were, she'd be ready tomorrow. Fawnpaw vowed to become the best tunnel runner the Clan had ever seen. Better, even, than her own father.

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**AN; Honestly, I have no idea how long that chapter was. I don't know if the mood changed like predicted either, though. Well, only four more chapter 'till you guys get to vote! Oh, I'm so excited! After this, though, I'm going to continue working on New Moon. Sadly, I'm deleting the stories I can't work on anymore. I just have too many! Funny. This is an Imagine Dragons station, yet I haven't heard ****_one Imagine Dragons song_**** yet. Wah! I wish it would just play Radioactive or It's Time already! Those are my favorites. What are yours? I'm interested in you guys! Oh, not in that way... Awkward! Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Aussie Sunday!**

**~Greecexcats527**


	14. Chapter 12

**AN; Alright! I was orignally planning on updating The End right now, but I'm stuck. Writer's Block sucks. So I'm updating Fawnshade instead. I hope you all enjoyed last chapter, and my little trolling episode there. ;) Don't worry. I'll probably do it again sometime. I also just cleaned out my story thing. All the stories that were annoying me are gone. Now I can focus on finishing these two, and then working on the others that I have! See you all at the end.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Fawnpaw followed Acornpaw into the apprentices' den when they got back into the camp. They had just finished looking at one of the ShadowClan tunnels and its main-frame, which almost all of the tunnels that ran beneath their territory connected to.

The reddish brown apprentice flattened out a new nest for her, right next to his own. The other tunnel runner apprentice, Copperpaw, was sitting in her nest next to Acornpaw's grooming her stained white tail-tip. She looked up and nodded her head at Fawnpaw when the brown she-cat sat down in her nest beside them both. Fawnpaw didn't know why all the tunnel runner apprentices slept together. Maybe it was because they would end up being closer to their fellow ranks than the others, in the end.

She curled up between Copperpaw and Acornpaw and tucked her nose under her tail. Tomorrow, Stonedrift was going to give her a tour of some of the other tunnels with Copperpaw and her mentor, Wingshine. Fawnpaw hoped that she got to learn some tunnel fighting moves. Acornpaw and Copperpaw talked about them all the time. Every apprentice learned them when they reached three moons in apprenticeship, but only a few if they were ground dashers. All the tunnel runner apprentices already knew a bunch. And Fawnpaw couldn't wait.

She closed her green eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When she finally opened her eyes, Acornpaw was shaking her awake. His soft brown eyes didn't look sleep-begging at all, unlike Riverpaw's. The gray tabby's river-blue eyes were droopy, but today, he seemed less upset about Smallpaw's change of heart. The gray apprentice had been so upset lately when Smallpaw had decided to become Maplewhisker's apprentice.

The black and white medicine apprentice was sorting through herbs in the clearing when Fawnpaw followed the other two apprentices out of their den. She gave her former denmates a nod before getting back to work. Fawnpaw turned toward the entrance to a tunnel where she had watched tunnel patrols leave with tunnel runners. Only ground dashers of at least nine moons of age got to go on a tunnel patrol. That's why Fawnpaw had never been on one before.

Snowheart, Stonedrift, and Tallwhisker were waiting by the tunnel entrance. Tallwhisker nodded to his apprentice, Riverpaw, as they approached, and when they entered the dark tunnel, the black warrior seemed undaunted by its blackness. Fawnpaw blinked a few times before she could see her paws on the dirty ground in front of her and followed her mentor into the main-frame. She followed Stonedrift down the tunnel that Acornpaw said led out onto the middle of the moor.

"We'll be checking in with Snakebite and Featherpaw to see if Icestar is giving them anymore trouble," Snowheart explained as they pushed through a tunnel that went underneath the Thunderpath between the two Clans. "Featherpaw is the WindClan deputy's apprentice, so she's usually with Snakebite. And I must say, she's been trained pretty darn fast." Fawnpaw nodded as she listened to Acornpaw's mentor explain.

"Why, thank you, Snowheart!"

The voice came from about a tail-length down the tunnel. Fawnpaw looked over Stonedrift's shoulder to see two cats she recognized from the Gathering. The larger cat was a pale brown she-cat. Her extremely bright amber eyes made her stand out from most amber-eyed cats, whose eyes were much, much duller. She seemed nice enough once ou got to know her, but Snakebite's shapr tongue was what got her her name.

The second was an only slightly smaller gray and white she-cat whom Fawnpaw recognized as Snakebite's tunnel runner apprentice, Featherpaw. She was the strongest apprentice in WindClan. Most of the other Clans said it was because Snakebite was so strict with her apprentics. Fawnpaw thought it was because Snakebite knew how to train young, foolish apprentices such as Featherpaw when she first started.

"I'm having an assessment right now," Featherpaw continued; it had been her who'd spoken to Snowheart. "We were wondering if you wouldn't mind allowing us to use some of your tunnels? Our tunnel that leads to the Sunningrocks collapsed, and that tunnel has always been a big part of WindClan's tunnel runner assessments."

Stonedrift nodded, as if the apprentice were merely asking if she could check the ShadowClan elders for ticks. Featherpaw's mentor meowed a thank you, and the two skinny WindClan cats slipped past the tunnel patrol.

Fawnpaw turned around and watched Snakebite as she led her apprentice down the dark tunnel. She remembered at a Gathering how brown and stained Featherpaw's pale fur had been. Fawnpaw couldn't even imagine how pretty it had been before the young apprentice had become a tunnel runner.

The brown she-cat turned back around and kept padding down the tunnel. Here and there, small tunnel entrances let in shafts of sunlight. A dark gray tabby tom, at one point, stuck his head in to say hello to the passing patrol, only to be pulled out by his mentor, a creamy-red she-cat with green eyes. Her name was Rosefade, and she was very popular among the Clans.

Eventually, the patrol came to an entrance the went out straight. On the other side, Fawnpaw could see another tunnel with other cats. Three, to be exact. The first one, a pale gray she-cat, was talking to a much smaller dark brown she-cat with creamy ears. The last cat was a black and white she-cat caled Berrystorm. She waved her tail happily at the ShadowClan cats.

"Morning, Stonedrift!" Berrystorm called over the rumbling of the river. They were in the gorge tunnels. "How's that elder of yours that them two loners saved? Quiettongue!"

"Dead!" Stonedrift called back. "She was Gingerwhisker's mother, too. And Ravenstar's daughter. Stumpyfoot just passed away from greencough, as well."

The black and white she-cat blinked her brilliantly shiny blue eyes at the deputy. "Oh! Poor thing! I sure wish we could've helped. Bobtailpaw here always liked 'em. Stumpyfoot was the best storyteller of these here Clans, and I don't think we'll get the chance to have another on of 'em eround for a while now!"

Stonedrift nodded before pushing Fawnpaw in front of him with his nose. "Hi Berrystorm!" she called over, hoping the black and white RiverClan queen would remember her. Berrystorm looked delightted that Fawnpaw had remembered _her._

"Well, howdy-do there, Fawnpaw!" she called back over. "Well, we'd best be going now. Got a lot more ground to cover, and Icestar's been mighty hostile by the Sunningrocks! He even blocked it off on purpose so that those nice WindClan cats couldn't patrol there any longer. I reckon he's off to block yours right now! See you around, ShadowClanners!"

Icestar was blocking off their tunnel? Snakebite and Featherpaw were down there! Her mentor seemed to know as well. "Acornpaw, take Fawnpaw down the Sunningrocks tunnel to warn Snakebite and her apprentice about the ThunderClan patrol," he told them quickly. "Then head back to the main-frame. We'll meet you there."

The reddish brown tom nodded, and took off. Fawnpaw pelted after him. She remembered the way back to the main-frame already. They took a tight right turn and headed down tunnel to where the Sunningrocks lay at the end. When they reach the patrol, the ground had been rumbling for a while, and dirt had started falling in. Acornpaw gripped Snakebite's paw between his teethh and pulled her out. Featherpaw was waiting beside them.

Dirt started showering the four tunnel runners, and they turned to run back. They had just reached the end of the tunnel when a scream erupted from behind them. Fawnpaw turned just in time to see Nightpaw, the ThunderClan medicine apprentice. She had come to stop Icestar.

Mud had engulfed most of the black and white apprentice's body. Fawnpaw didn't know what to do. She started digging frantically at the dirt, but it didn't budge, just covered Nightpaw more deeply with the dirt.

"She's being burried alive!" Snakebite gasped from behind Fawnpaw. The tunnel runner started digging beside Fawnpaw, but it didn't work. Nightpaw was only becoming more and more burried in the tunnels.

A call sounded from farther back. "Fawnpaw! Snakebite! We have to go!" It was Riverpaw. The dark gray tabby had come to help them!

"But we can't just leave her here!" Fawnpaw cried over the rumbling of the tunnels as she continued to scrabble at the dirt beside the WindClan deputy.

Riverpaw continued to call out to them. "You'll all die if you don't come back now!" he cried. "Please, Fawnpaw! I've already lost Smallpaw. Don't make me lose you too."

Fawnpaw let his words sink in. Lose her too? Was it probable that maybe Riverpaw liked her? She looked down at Nightpaw as the medicine apprentice's head dissapeared into the soil.

"Go."

Nightpaw had wanted them to live. Fawnpaw sent a silent prayer to StarClan for the young apprentice before turning and sprinting down the tunnel toward the sound of Riverpaw's voice. Snakebite ran after her.

When they reached the main-frame, Fawnpaw turned around to see the tunnel blocked off completely by dirt. There was a hiss and a snarl as Stonedrift entered the cave with Toothgrowl. The black warrior wasn't fighting back, just sat there in the middle.

"He pushed her. Icestar pushed her in."

* * *

"But that can't be possible!" Ravenstar argued as she spoke to the ThunderClan ground dasher at the Clan meeting. "Alright, then. Tell me everything. From the beginning."

Toothgrowl took a deep breath. "Icestar had said that the other Clans were giving us too much trouble," he meowed. "He knew that Snakebite and Featherpaw were doing their assessments in the tunnels today. And he didn't want them around on our territory today, what with the prey-stealing patrols and all. So he blocked off the first tunnel, the tunnel with WindClan. Nightpaw and I were looking for herbs, well, I was helping her. There was some burdock growing on top of your Sunningrocks tunnel. We saw the WindClan cats in it. Nightpaw and I knew that Icestar would kill them if he blocked that tunnel. So I sent her off to Sunningrocks. I followed, and when I got there, Icestar was snapping at her. She tried to stop him, honest. He swiped at her. Icestar said worthless apprentices like her who disobeyed their leaders didn't deserve to live. And he, pushed her into the tunnel and he burried her alive!"

The Clan gasped when Toothgrowl finished his story. Ravenstar especially looked horrified. "What kind of a StarClan forbidden leader is he?" Acornpaw hissed. "Killing off a medicine apprentice is horrible!"

Fawnpaw nodded in agreement. She trusted Toothgrowl now. He had defied his leader for the sake of a Clan that they knew they were stealing from. "I do not wish for him to be leader anymore," he growled, showing his teeth. "I wish to overthrow him."

Again, gasps fluttered throughout the Clan. Overthrow his own leader? "You've seen what he will do to egt what he wants!" the black warrior snarled, standing up and adressing the rest of the Clan now, and no longer just Ravenstar. "If he gets strong enough, he can and will destroy you all! Do you want to be led by that kind of monetser? He killed my sister!"

Ravenstar leapt down from the Long Branch, turning to face Toothgrowl. "Won't you at least let me stay here?" he begged.

The black leader stared at him through her eyes, now chips of hating green eyes. "No," she hissed. "But we will join you. That rat will die. We will save ThunderClan!" She stood up from her battle crouch and raked her claws across the air.

Toothgrowl followed suit, along with the rest of the Clan. Fawnpaw wasn't sure how, but he knew in her heart one thing: Icestar was going down, and he was never, ever going to stand back up.

* * *

**AN; Aww, yeah! Icestar's going down! Sorry for killing Nightpaw. I had to! Also, I was thinking; want me to make this a series? Not updating anymore today. Alright, so all day long today, I'll have a vote up on my profile. Anybody who reads this, vote. Seriously. If nobody votes, then I'll choose. I want to know what you guys think. It's very, very important to how this story ends. Alrighty then, Shimmernose needs some kits, so please send in OCs! Also, I've got something not evil planned for Berrystorm. I promise, she's not going to die or get hurt. It's for her hapiness. :) I hope you guys don't absolutely hate Toothgrowl. Blah blah, I'm rambling, huh? Leave reviews, OCs, and remember to please vote! I'll update later. Until then, flame Icestar! And happy Lithuanian Monday!**

**~GreecexCats527**


	15. Chapter 13

**AN; Aww yeah! Best background eveh! I used this background on my dad's mac, and now it's on my netbook! I fear it has become... my newest obsession. Well, not really. Just something I like. :) I know I said I wouldn't update anymore today, but I've been reading Starry Skies. I read books 1 and 2 in 2 days, and I'm half way through the 3rd. It's by somebody called something I don't feel like mentioning right now. But my sis just started a story and she'd really like some reviews. So if you don't mind, she's Smallheart0809 and her stories are My Little Minecraft and Smallheart's Story. She'd really apreciate it if you'd go check her out. Told her that her seester sent you. ;D On with the chapter! Oh, and if I had to name this chapter, it'd be called 'Confessions'.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Fawnpaw felt uneasy as she padded along beside Toothgrowl through the forest. Stonedrift was leading the patrol to the Thunderpath to bring the black warrior home. She knew that Icestar was a killer now, and after her little incident with Nightpaw, Fawnpaw had been afraid to go into the tunnels again. Good thing Stonedrift had decided to hold off on the tunnel training for a little bit.

Soon, the rumbling of the monsters over the Thunderpath reach Fawnpaw's ear fur. Toothgrowl halted, as though he were afraid to cross again. On the way to warn ShadowClan of the threat that Icestar posed for them, he had been careless and injured his hind leg when a monster had crushed it.

Now the black tom limped onward beside Stonedrift until they reached the edge of the sticky, black path that monsters ran along. As soon as there was a large gap, the gray deputy ran beside Toothgrowl on to the other side. They were both breathing heavily when they reached it. Stonedrift whispered something to Toothgrowl. The black ThunderClan cat nodded before limping off into the trees. As soon as all was quiet again, Stonedrift ran back across the Thunderpath, quick as lightning, before the next monster could come and attack.

He led the patrol back through the pine forest, and when they reached camp, padded under the roots of the Long Branch tree. Ravenstar would have wanted to know very much what had happened, and if ThunderClan had questioned them at all.

Fawnpaw padded over to sit beside Riverpaw. They had been avoiding eachother all day, after what he had said back in the tunnels. He didn't want to lose her. Was he just treating her like a Clanmate? Or had Riverpaw been reffering to something else? She shook it off with a sigh and just waited for the gray tabby tom to speak. She'd been waiting all day for his input on things.

The tabby took a deep breath and turned to face her. She looked at him, deep into his deep, forbidding eyes. They were blue, and seemed to reflect the whole world. The same shade as Berrystorm's, but much more beautiful. (Oh, yay! Song fits in perfectly to the mood, it's so lovely dovey. Oops, just gave it away. :) )

"Fawnpaw, I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know that Nightpaw was a medicine apprentice. I realize we shouldn't have left her back there. You know I liked your sister a lot. But she's gone, and I realize she was just a distraction. Fawnpaw, I-"

Fawnpaw held up her tail in silence. She leaned forward and pressed her nose against Riverpaw's. "I love you too."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Fawnpaw watched Acornpaw pad up to her, carrying a squirrel. "Hey," he meowed, his brown eyes kind and soft. "Want to share?"

The brown she-cat nodded, a lump in her throat. She took a bite before letting Acornpaw have some. "So, how was your assessment?" she asked casually. She didn't eat anymore. Her heart had been jumping around in her throat since she'd spoken to Riverpaw and he'd admitted that he liked her.

"Let's not talk about that," Acornpaw meowed, placing his tail dangerously close to Fawnpaw's. "You see, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I-I really like you, Fawnpaw. It's been gnawing at me for moons now, not telling you and not knowing how you felt about me. So, what do you feel?"

Fawnpaw gazed into his eyes. They were just as wonderous as Riverpaw's. The gray apprentice's had more depth to them, but Acornpaw's eyes were a brilliant shade of brown, uncommon for most cats with brown eyes. They were sparkling in the sun light of the afternoon, and Fawnpaw saw hope and love deep within them. "Acornpaw," she whispered. "What do you fear?"

Acornpaw looked oddly surprised at her question. "I guess, it's not being loved by the one I feel toward," he murmured. "I guess I already know the answer to my question. But if you ever need me, just-" The apprentice stopped to sigh. "I won't change. I never will. My opinion will stay the same. And I won't think any different of you. Just tell when if you need me, okay?"

The reddish brown tom walked off to the apprentices' den. The light shone down on his brilliant fur. He paused in the sun light, meowing a warm greeting to Smallpaw as she came back from herb collecting. The black and white she-cat seemed to purr when her friend spoke to her, and she soon returned to Maplewhisker's side in the medicine den. Fawnpaw continued to watch Acornpaw, and, for the first time, she wondered if she truly did love Riverpaw.

_What do you fear? _she asked herself. _What do I fear? I guess I fear that I'm wrong. I'm afraid that Riverpaw doesn't really love me. He still loves Smallpaw. Does he really love me? Do _I _really love _him_? Or do I love Acornpaw?_

* * *

**AN; Well, there you have it! Fawnpaw's being fickle. Can't believe she didn't notice Acornpaw liked her earlier. Seriously, no offense to males, but guys can be sooooooooooooooo obvious. Goodness, I was listening to so many sappy songs. ;) I've got Fix You by Coldplay playing right now. See? They're all seemingly sappy and sad. This was a pretty short chapter altogether, but I need to update The End too. Oh, StarClan. Who knows what these songs will make me write in that story! *shudder* Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Lithuanian Monday! ^..^**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	16. Chapter 14

**AN; I have some saddening news if you read The End. I will not be updating it anymore. Well, I will be, but only after Fawnshade's Tale is over. Or, maybe after the voting is closed, after the 1st installment of the Fawnshade series is completed. The End will be next, then The Darkness Withing All, and finally The Story of My Life. The others I will type lator. Yep. I spelled it wrong ON PURPOSE. Okay, here is the 14th chapter. OMG! Chapter 14 already? Blossomdust's Destiny has 21 chappies, and not even half the words that this one has. I'd like to thank all my viewers for helping me with this story. My top reviewers, Bloodclaw of ThunderClan and Kitcat from the Sky, thanks so much guys! You've helped me a lot. Love you all. Last chapter was short and a bit sappy, so this one will be more interesting. Battle training! Aww yeah! See you at te end, guys. Love you all! And yes, this Thursday school is starting up again. But, hey! I always update. Homework is easy, for 1. 2nd of all, I do it right away. God, it's in, like, three days! My friend has a teacher name Mr. Adams. Kitcat, think about it. A-dam. I was mad angry at her. Alright, I'll stop now. On with the chappie!**

* * *

**Chapter 14 (I almost wrote Mr. Adams. WTDF?)**

Fawnpaw followed her father out of the camp. They went down the tunnel and when they emerged, they found that the main-frame was already full with Acornpaw and Copperpaw's sparring. (XD! It's gonna be a short chappie. Gonna go watch Arrested Development with meh dad)

The brown she-cat watched intently as Copperpaw slithered along the ground, smooth as a snake. She popped up under Acornpaw, and the reddish brown tom leapt to the right, springing off the tunnel wall and landing on Copperpaw again, flattening her. Snowheart quickly called them away so that Stonedrift could train his apprentice. Fawnpaw followed her father out into the middle of the cave and watched as he sprawled himself on the ground.

"I'll teach you a Quick Slither," he meowed. "So, you use this move when an opponent is standing. You move underneath them and spring up. But get quickly out of the way, because they'll likely leap off the wall and land on you."

Fawnpaw copied her mentor, sprawling on the ground and crawling around the cave with him. It was actually quite fun. She let out a giggle when she accidentally crashed into Snowheart. The white she-cat let out a purr and stepped back.

* * *

After tunnel battle training, Stonedrift had told Fawnpaw to get some rest. The question still plagued her thoughts from the other day, though. _What do you fear?_ She decided to answer that question again.

_I'm scared I don't know what I need._

_No! You're not scraed of that! Tell the truth._

_I-I am! I'm scared that Riverpaw doesn't love me._

_Getting warmer. Come on, dig through those memories._

_I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt Acornpaw?_

_NO! You are not. Tell yourself the truth. What are you afraid of!_

_I love Acornpaw. And I'm scared I'll break Riverpaw's heart._

* * *

**AN; Like her little self argument there? Yeah, you thought wrong. She like Acornpaw. She always did. And maybe Riverpaw still loves Smallpaw. Alright you guys. Again, love you all. See you tomorrow in chapter 15! Please vote. There's already a leaning side, but I want to see if you guys, uh, change the side favoring. Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Lithuanian Monday! ^..^ Cat, out.**

**~GreeceXCats527**


	17. Chapter 15

**Cat: Hello, Cat-Lovers! I wrote this chapter a while ago, but fanfiction deleted it. And now I'm very angry at it. But, anyways, this is going to be chapter 15.**

**Fawnpaw: *poofs in* We have some very special news!**

**Cat: Tell them, Fawny.**

**Fawnpaw: We have reached 500 views! So Cat is having a 'contest'. If you answer this question correctly, you can pick Shimmernose's kits. *cough* Riverpaw! Bring the question!**

**Riverpaw: *poofs in* Alright! So here is the question: Cat has a pet cat named Caesar. And Caesar is a long haired tom. What color is Caesar?**

**Cat: There. If multiple people guess, I will choose the first three people to guess. On with the story!**

**Chapter 15**

Fawnpaw padded out of the apprentices' den and sat watching the kits play. It was early morning, about a moon since Toothgrowl had left their camp, and she was getting anxious. When would the first battle against Icestar be? And who would be their new leader? She hadn't seen much of the ThunderClan cats recently, but they were getting increasingly hostile on their borders.

She watched Shortclaw's kits. They were two moons old, and their pure Clan blood showed as they practiced small fighting moves. Nightkit's pouncing and aim was perfect, and he landed his blows each time on their target. Dawnkit was small like Fawnpaw, but she made the most of it, sliding under her opponents claws. She was cunning and smart, and the little she-cat would make a great apprentice. Then, there was Flightkit. He was swift and agile, showing that his father, Heatherwhisker who was formerly of WindClan, had at least given off some of his skills to his offspring.

Turning away, Fawnpaw watched Echoleap's kittens. Shykit was the smallest, and she was the most kind. She didn't openly join in with the fighting, but if you attacked her and her claws were out, you'd be a shredded lump of fur and teeth in a heartbeat. Mothkit shared his father's looks and his mother's sharp tongue. He was the biggest kit, and he didn't take kindly to Shortclaw's kits joining in on their games. But he was a wonderful fighter. Finally there was Foxkit. He was ginger with creamy patches and was always there for his friends. But he avoided Fawnpaw for the most part, especially after she's said she would eat him.

Fawnpaw jumped when she felt fur rub against hers. Turning, she saw Pinepaw. He'd just returned with his mentor, Mothdrift, from their sentrey spots on the ThunderClan border. "Hey," he murmured, sitting down.

The brown tom wrapped his tail around his front paws as they watched the kits play-fight. "So, how do you like being a tunnel runner?" Pinepaw asked casually, keeping his eyes fixed on the kits.

Fawnpaw merely shrugged. "It's alright," she answered. "Since we left Nightpaw, I-. Iguess I'm afraid of losing my family and friends down there, too."

"Look, Nightpaw's death was Icestar's fault, not yours," Pinepaw replied, his voice a deep growl. "You and Acornpaw are so mopey about this stuff. You blame yourselves, when it was Icestar who killed her. She trie to save you, and she will be rewarded in StarClan."

The brown tom finished with a stamp of his front paws on the ground. Fawnpaw stared at him, amazed that he could put so much feeling into words for an apprentice he didn't even know. He must've really hated Icestar.

Fawnpaw gave her brother a slight nod. "Sterong words," she whispered, standing up on shaky white paws. "I'll see you later. Stonedrift is teaching me how to get more power in my paws when I slam down in battles." She waved her white-tipped tail at hiim, then exited the camp through the main entrance.

Outside, Stonedrift and Willowheart were waiting with Mosspaw. Fawnpaw hadn't seen much of her sister recently, since Mosspaw joined any patrol that she could. She knew that her dark brown and white sister was only doing this to show off her endless energy to Ravenstar and become a warrior sooner.

"So, battle training?" Fawnpaw asked her father excitedly.

Stonedrift shook his head, and his apprentice's face fell. "Sorry," he apologized. "Ravenstar wants us to go along the borders again. We're walking along them, back and forth, all afternoon. ThunderClan has gotten more rude with our patrols lately. Come on, you lead the way."

The brown apprentice padded off the the left, toward the ThunderClan border. She heard Mosspaw sniff at being left to follow, but she didn't mind. Mosspaw was a big jerk these days. She could go join ThunderClan, for all Fawnpaw cared.

Pretty soon, they reached the border. Fawnpaw opened her mouth, and all the scents were carried onto her scent glands. "Toothgrowl!" she exclaimed in a whisper, bending down to look into the Thundertunnel. Sure enough, the black warrior was sitting there, his tail wrapped tiredly around his paws.

"Hello, young Fawnpaw," he meowed groggily. He seemed older and more tired than a moon ago, probably from all the patrols Icestar was ordering. ShadowClan had cats to spare for them, where Icetsra probably lost all his warriors to patrols each day. "Is Stonedrift- hello."

Stonedrift peeked over Fawnpaw's shoulder. "Well, anyways," Toothgrowl continued, "I told Duskpaw about what Icestar had done to Nightpaw, and he's willing to join us. Appleblossom says she's on our side, and she refuses to heal any of our Clan until Icestar steps down or dies. She wants to know if she can stay with you, to escape Icestar's wrath. He killed Nightpaw. What would he do o her?"

Stonedrift nodded. "Good about Duskpaw," he meowed. "I'm sure he's turning into a fine warrior. Appleblossom can stay withh us for sure. I'm sure there's no harm in having an extra paw to help Maplewhisker and Smallpaw."

"Wonderful!"

The mew came from on the other side of Toothgrowl, and a golden she-cat with ginger ears and paws padded out. It was Appleblossom. Her kind green eyes reminded Fawnpaw of Gingerwhisker, and she was stunned by how thin the medicine cat was. Her ribs poked out of her sides.

"You look as if you haven't eaten in a few days," Stonedrift commented when they left the border. Willowheart and Mosspaw were finishing the patrol, and the others had decided to escort Appleblossom to their camp.

Appleblossom's head was down as whe padded along beside them. "Well, Icestar didn't feed me at all," she whispered. "When Duskpaw realized I'd joined you, he snuck me a mouse or two once in a while, but wasn't able to for the past few days."

"Well, at least it's only ThunderClan that is following Icestar," Fawnpaw pointed out. "If RiverClan joined him, I don't think just us would be able to complete the plan."

Appleblossom stopped. "Rushstar joined him the other day," she meowed, her voice dangerously quiet. "She thinks that he did the right thing to an apprentice who dared to defy him. And I think he promised her she could be his deputy. They've, um, made their own Clan. It's called StrongClan, and they live on SunningRocks."

Both Stonedrift and his apprentice gasped. How could they? They betrayed StarClan! "We have to get Swiftstar on our side before he joins them as well," Stonedrift growled. "Appleblossom, here's the tunnel. Go inside, and explain everything to Ravenstar. Fawnpaw, let's go. We're off to tell WindClan."

**Cat: Well, I know River + Thunder is like Tigerclan, sort of, but oh well. Chapter 16 will be up, well, I dunno when. I'm going to update The End now, so it might be later this week, in an afternoon. School started tomorrow, but I'll find time to update. I always do. ;)**

**Appleblossom: :\ I don't know how I feel about staying with ShadowClan...**

**Cat: They'll be looking for loners who want to join The Resistance as well in the next book. So yeah. OCs! Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace. And happy Greek Wednesday! ^..^ Cat, out.**


	18. Chapter 16

**Cat: I haven't been updating. D: But, I do have the most messed up schedule for school, like, evveh! And I get out early tomorrow for my physical! I have to get recertified for tennis. Okay, well, I have gotten a pawful of OCs in the past, what? Week? Since I updated, and I will fit them in whenever I can, I promise. I'm trying to make this book at least 20 chapters long, 22 maybe? Possibly 17 or 18, which'll mean I need to sum this story up, soon. I was just walking home today with my friend Lauren and we met our other friend, who is on Fanfiction. :) I know 1 of her accounts is Lunawing118. You guys should check her out if you like anime/manga. Well, on with chapter 16!**

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**Chapter 16**

Fawnpaw nodded, while Appleblossom turned and slid through the camp entrance. The golden and ginger ThunderClan medicine cat would most likely be allowed to stay, seeing as Icestar was starving her and all. She turned back to followed Stonedrift, just as his gray tail was dissapearing into the pine trees that edged the marshy land.

The brown she-cat followed her mentor through the marsh. A few times, a frog hopped past, but the two cats ignored them. If what Toothgrowl had said was true, and RiverClan had joined ThunderClan already, then the ShadowClan cats would need WindClan to come onto their side as much as ever. As Fawnpaw was thinking about these things, she suddenly realized that it was getting harder and harder for her to follow Stonedrift. Were they that close to the Quick-Marsh already? The yowl of surprise up ahead answered her question.

Fawnpaw skirted the edges of the marsh until the saw Stonedrift, up to his shoulders in mud. He had fallen into the quicksand and was sinking deeper every heartbeat. "Help!"

The gray tom struggled against the weight of the mud, making him sink even faster. He turned his pleading blue eyes on Fawnpaw, begging for her help. She quickly obeyed, grabbing the nearest branch in her teeth and pushing it out to her father. It didn't reach him, only made about half of the trip.

"Others!" Stonedrift cried, and Fawnpaw nodded, spinning around and racing back to the camp.

When she entered, only Ravenstar was present in the clearing, and Appleblossom's tail was dissapearing into Maplewhisker's den. "Help!" Fawnpaw wheezed, panting. "Stonedrift fell into the Quick-marsh!"

The black ShadowClan leader instantly understood, and took off out of camp, heading to the marsh. Fawnpaw followed, going as fast as her large, tired paws would take her. When they reached her father, Stonedrift was up to his neck in mud, and still sinking.

Ravenstar seemed to know exactly what to do in this kind of situation. She dove into the mud, sinking right away. But she pushed forward and gripped Stonedrift's scruff in her teeth. The black queen pulled her deputy out, and Stonedrift scrambled to the edge. Ravenstar turned to go as well, but found herself now stuck in the quick-mud.

"Ravenstar!" Stonedrift croaked, coughing out mud. "I'm coming!"

The gray deputy tried to scrabble to his paws, but he was too tired after his skirmish with the mud. Ravenstar only shook her head as he watched her, horrified, sinking down into her death. "Stonedrift," she whispered. "StarClan know it is my time. And so do I. I was told that I would die saving one of the my warriors on my own land, and only assumed it would be in a battle. Now I know; it's time. Lead my Clan well, Stonestar."

The black leader exhaled before he sunk into the mud completely, and closed her eyes. "Ravenstar!"

A passing patrol ran for her in the mud, but Fawnpaw stopped them. "Stop!" she cried. "Ravenstar died saving Stonedrift. There was nothing we could do."

The leader of the patrol, Crowflight, curled her lip. "You could have saved her," she snapped at Fawbpaw, making the apprentice flinch. "Instead you watched her die. Like a mouse beneath the claws of a great cat. Not even caring."

Acornpaw, the only apprentice present on the patrol, took a step toward Crowflight. "No," he growled back. "If Ravenstar hadn't decided it was time for her to go, we would've heard her screams from the few tail-lengths away that we were. Crowlight, you shouldn't be throwing accusations around like that. They are very serious."

The black she-cat turned on the reddish brown tom, spitting. "You are going to get it!" she snarled, baring her teeth in his face.

"But he is correct," Stonedrift rasped from where he was lying, catching his breath. "Crowlfight, those accusation are serious. And besides, Don't think I didn't try to save Ravenstar. She told me not to. It was her last wish."

* * *

That night, the whole Clan mourned for the loss of Ravenstar. Fawnpaw said her goodbyes last, with Stonedrift and Acornpaw. As the moon almost reached its highest point, Stonedrift climbed onto the Long Branch, with Maplewhisker and Appleblossom's help. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Long Branch for a Clan meeting!" he called out, and the Clan turned their heads to look up at their new leader.

"I know that Ravenstar's passing has hit us all hard," he began, getting murmurs of agreement from the crowd. "But in accordance to our beloved warrior code, I must elect a new deputy before moonhigh. I say these words before the body of Ravenstar, so that she may hear and approve my choice. Snowheart will be the new deputy of ShadowClan."

Ripples of surprise spread through the Clan like wildfire, even Snowheart looked stunned. "I, Stonedrift, why?" she asked finally, recovering from her shock.

Stonedrift dipped her head to her with a purr. "Because you may not be the oldest warrior, but you are wise, and have much to teach the Clan, though you do not know it yet," he replied with a flicked of his tail. "You are also a natural leader."

The white she-cat looked at her paws when she realized it was all true. Lifting her head a moment later, she padded forward and rested her head on Stonedrift's shoulder. "I accept."

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**Cat: That was super short. But whatever. I don't think I'll add them asking WindClan in this installment of the series, but I'll include a chapter 17 and en epilogue. I'll see you all in the next chapter. Until then, peace. And happy Lithuanian Monday! ^..^ Cat, out.**


	19. Chapter 17

**Cat: Hello, and welcome, Cat-Lovers, to the last chapter of Leaping Fawn. I'll have an epilogue, not to worry, and once The End is done I'll start the next book in this series. I'll probably start the allegiances for book to, which'll most likely be called Darkest Thunder. Shimmernose will have her kits in the epilogue, most likely, and they might get their own prophecy. o_O I'm not doing anymore spoilers!**

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**Chapter 17**

Fawnpaw opened her eyes the next morning in the apprentices den, being shaken awake by Acornpaw. He looked genuinely excited. His brown eyes glowed when Fawnpaw sat up. Was he hiding something? Or just have some exciting news to share with her?

"Guess where we're going tonight?" Acornpaw asked, practically jumping from paw-to-paw as they headed out on the sunhigh tunnel patrol. Crowflight was acting as Fawnpaw's temporary mentor until Stonedrift had recovered from his sinking issue, and had gotten his nine lives at the Moonstone.

Fawnpaw was staring down at her paws, now stained brown from the tunnels. "Where, Acornpaw?" she asked, not looking up.

"The Moonstone," Acornpaw replied, lifting his chin proudly. His eyes seemed to sparkle with joy at this news. "We're going while Stonedrift receives his nine lives."

Fawnpaw stared at her friend, stunned. "Are you serious!" she exclaimed, jumping forward and crashing into Snowheart. "This is awesome!"

Acornpaw smiled slightly and turned his head back to the patrol. The marked their tunnels as theirs before turning and heading back to the main-frame. The patrol climbed out of the tunnels, and Fawnpaw cleaned the dirt and grit from her pads. The Moonstone! And before Riverpaw had gone. It was amazing.

She turned to watch Lakepaw talk with her new mentor, Gingerwhisker. Fawnpaw's mother would probably get along well with her best friend's daughter. Lakepaw's training was basically almost done, like her brothers'. Three quarters of the way, exactly.

Gingerwhisker gace her a wave of her tail, and Fawnpaw returned it with a nod. They weren't as close as they had been a few moons ago, but at least they still found time to talk. Her mother was probably the kindest, most amazing she-cat in all of ShadowClan, that Fawnpaw knew for sure.

"So, are you two excited?" Stonedrift purred as he approached the younger cats. "To tell you the truth, I'm kind of nervous. I never thought I'd ever be receiving nine lives from StarClan. But you guys will be fine. You'll probably see Stumpyfoot and Quiettongue there, maybe Patchyfur and Ravenstar, too."

Fawnpaw and Acornpaw exchanged a quick glance at the mention of their not-long-dead leader. Ravenstar's passing had effected the entire Clan, especially when her body had been rendered unretrievable. Most of the ShadowClan cats thatt had been clos to the black she-cat hadn't been eating a ot lately, and most just lay around the camp, depressed. Even Gingerwhisker, who was usually excited about finding new ways to help her Clan, had practically stopped functioning.

Going to the Moonstone was a big deal. Copperpaw had gone already, and so had Smallpaw. But, then again, Smallpaw went every moon for the medicine cat half-moon meetings. She had always been shy when mentioning the bright, glowing stone that stood in the middle of Mothermouth, so none of the apprentices who hadn't gone didn't know much about it. Copperpaw didn't really describe it either, tough she had said that when you touched your nose to the stone, cats from StarClan came down to speak with you.

The brown she-cat loooked back at her father, who was waiting expectantly for their answer. His blue eyes glowed with happiness when he mention getting his nine lives. "I can't wait," Fawnpaw answered honestly, and Acornpaw nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Well, we're leaving at sunhigh," Stonedrift told them happily, his tail flicking back and forth with anticipation. "You two should get some rest. It won't be long, now. And be sure to see Maplewhisker and Appleblossom for some traveling herbs before we leave." He turned and padded underneath the roots of the Long Branch tree, probably to catch up on his sleep.

The gray tom hadn't gotten much sleep lately, what with dealing with the entire Clan now, and all. He seemed especially troubled whenever a cat brouhgt up the matter of WindClan. Nocat could be absolutely sure that RiverClan and ThunderClan had joined forces, but one could never be to careful.

Fawnpaw padded into te apprentices' den and flopped down on her mossy nest. The others were empty except for Acornpaw's. He had just entered the den to rest as well. For some reason, Fawnpaw felt safer around him, and as she closed her eyes to sleep, she could almost feel a blanke of protection covering her up...

She opened her eyes to some shaking, and found a reddish brown leg that faded to black at the paw shaking her, and turned to llook into Acornpaw's excited brown eyes. "We're leaving now," he meowed, nudging some dark green leaves toward Fawnpaw as he did so with his nose. "Stonedrift says to meet him just by the Thundertunnel that leads under WindClan territory. Snowheart will be meeting us there as well. Maplewhisker and Smallpaw, too. It's sort of tradition for the deputy and medcine cats to escort their leader to the Moonstone. But, I supposed you knew that already. Let's go."

Fawnpaw looked for the words to tell Acornpaw she wasn't sure that she could actually do this, but she didn't have the heart to pull a raincheck on them all, s she relentlessly at the herbs and followed her friend out of the den. Riverpaw scowled at them as they padded past, and Mosspaw turned her nose up, refusing to acknowlede them. But Fawnpaw didn't care. She was going to the Moonstone.

Sure enough, Stonedrift, Snowheart, and the medicine cats were waiting by the Thundertunnel. At their leader's nod, all six of them ran beneath it and out onto the open moor.

Stonedrift led the way, taking them all through the thick heather that edged the top of a low hill, and racing across the path that many cats before them had trodded on their way to the sacred stone. The closer they got to the Moonstone, to more twisted Fawnpaw's stomach became.

Finally, jus as night began to fall, they reached the cave; Mothermouth. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Stonedrift called over his shoulder as his tail-tip disappeaed into the darkness of the tunnel.

Fawnpaw followed him inside, and was surprised when her eyes didn't adjust as quickly as they usually did, down in the tunnels. When she crashed into her father, only then did she realize that they'd reached the huge cave. The Cavern of the Moonstone.

Suddenly, a huge, blindingly-white light lumnated the cave as the moon shone down through a hole in the roof and lit up the rock in the center. The Moonstone. It was beautiful, and Maplewhisker and Smallpaw seemed more calm, now that they were in its pressence.

Fawnpaw followed them up to the stone and pressed her nose against its smooth surface. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, was surprised to find herself in a huge meadow. A pale gray she-cat with white ears, tail-tip, and paws was running through the long grass, laughing with glee. When she spotted Fawnpaw, she gave her a smile.

"Welcome to the Meadow of Dreams," the she-cat called, bounding over. "My name is Aspenspirit. And you are young Fawnpaw. I've watched your training for a long time. And I think you are going to become a marvelous tunnel runner."

Aspenspirit seemed continuingly optimistic as she led Fawnpaw about the Meadow of Dreams. For a second, the brown apprentice thought she could smell Snowheart and Acornpaw, but Aspenspirit led her away from the scents, and their memories only lingered at the back of Fawnpaw's mind.

When they stopped, it was in a huge cave, the same size as the Cavern of the Moonstone. Aspenspirit seemed to know where they were, because she didn't hesitate to dart down a long, dark tunnel. Fawnpaw gingerly followed, surprised when she felt her paws slide into the indentations of pawsteps left many moons before her by other generations of generations of warriors.

At the end of the tunnel was a pool, starlight reflecting on its waters even though the sky held no stars here, in StarClan. "This is the Seeing Pool," Aspenspirit explaine, dabbing the water with a paw. "Look."

Fawnpaw leaned her head over the rocks just as the ripples in the Seeing Pool left behind from Aspenspirit's paw became a picture. It was Icestar. He seemed to be battling with the RiiverClan cats, on some smooth, flat stones beside a river. It was a dangerous place to fight, but Icestar seemed proud when he drove the last of the RiverClan cats from the rocks. Only one remained.

He was a gray tom, his whiskers bent a little, but still strong looking. "Splashwhisker, you did good getting Rushstar to retreat today," Icestar purred, padding up to the panting tom.

Splashwhisker twitches his nose. "It was still a hard fight," he pointed out, licking his injured shoulder. "I'd best be going, Master. Those kits you want on our side are just coming out of the nursery today. It's best they learned now what a real warriors is."

Fawnpaw gasped as the image faded, and she looked up into Aspenspirit's sade, leafy green eyes. "Splashwhisker has taken the wrong path," she whispered. "The path of treason. Make sure nocat in your Clan does the same."

And with that, the gray and white she-cat faded, and Fawnpaw opened her eyes, once again on the cave floor.

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**AN; Dun dun duh! I am so sorry about my updating lack. Nobody tell me they don't care, or any of that junk. It matters a lot to me. Anywho, tennis has started, and I suck! We took a 'test' because it was 96 degrees farenheit outside today, technically illegal to make use play. So we watched other people do it on Youtube. I have decided to finish The End before starting book 2 in this series, so it might take a while. I'd like to start sooner, who knows! But I shall be working on the Moon Cycle now, and when that's done, probably Cats of the Code. I'll eventually finish all my stories. Promise. ;D Well, I'm also maybe helping my sis with her story now, so that'll take up A LOT of time as well. XD  
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**Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace. And happy Greek Wednesday! ^..^ Cat, out.**


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